MONTPELIER STATION, Va.--With a win at the Montpelier Hunt Races on Saturday, Nov. 2 and three at Callaway Gardens on the same day, Leslie Young made history as the second person in the same year to make over $1million in purses and also tied with Jack Fisher in Trainer, Races Won.
Leslie YoungTodd McKenna saddled Keystone Thoroughbreds' Noah and the Ark (Ire) to win the featured G2, $75,000 Hurdle Handicap Stakes, but that win was overshadowed by Young's historic achievement.
While Fisher now has reached over $1 million in purses seven times, only one other person had previously won over $1million, and that was Keri Brion in 2022.
But to have two trainers reach that pinnacle of success in one year is not only historic but also is a tribute to the strength of steeplechasing in this country and the huge increase in purses over the years.
Fisher leads in Trainer, Money Won with $1,194,600 and Young is second with $1,078,650, followed by Brion with $703,000, Arch Kingsley with $424,450 and Kathy Neilson with $304,200.
Fisher and Young are tied in Trainer, Races Won with 27wins each, and Brion is third with 13.
"That's great," said Young. "It's a huge feat. Two years ago we just missed making $1million by a couple of hundred dollars. We did it this year without any heavy hitters. We only had one stakes winner."
Young saddled Sharon E. Sheppard''s Rucker Road (Ire), ridden by Paddy O'Hanlon, to win the $40,000 Maiden Hurdle by 1 length over Avakate, trained by Neil Morris, and Fouroneohsmokesh, trained by Brion.
"He's a beautiful horse," said Young. "We got him at the Tattersalls Cheltenham sale. He s a lovely, athletic, leggy horse."
"I THOUGHT enough of him to run him first out at Far Hills," she said. "I think he would have won, but a horse fell in front of him and he got tangled up."
"He ran a nice race here," said Young. " He jumped well and powered down the stretch. We'll probably put him away for the winter."
Young's three wins at Callaway Gardens were reported in a story on Nov. 4.
Noah and the Ark, ridden by Gerard Galligan, won the Handicap Stakes by 4 3/4 lengths over Frontline Citizen (Ire), trained by Mark Beecher, and Total Joy (Ire), trained by Young.
This was his third stakes win, having won the G1 Lonesome Glory in 2022 and the G1 Grand National in 2023.
Noah and the Ark, who was giving 10 to 16 pounds to his four rivals, first ran at the back, made his way slowly up past horses and went into the lead over the last fence.
The second stakes race on the card, the $60,000 Filly and Mare Hurdle Stakes, was won by Afraid Not, trained by Julie Gomena and ridden by Galligan.
Afraid Not won by 6 1/2 lengths over Clara Belle, trained by Brion, and Cainudothetwist, trained by Arch Kingsley.
Sean McDermott trained and rode Lucy Howard's Love Saga to win the $30,000 Rating Handicap Hurdle by 3/4 length over Eye of Gunfighter, trained by Lawrence Smith, and Bellarmine Hall, trained by Liam Bourke.
Mark Beecher saddled The Hundred Acre Field's Samui Sunset, ridden by Dan Nevin, to win the $20,000 Maiden Claiming Hurdle by 12 lengths over Mint Game, trained by Brion,, and Bialystock, trained by Young.
Ricky Hendriks saddled Winflower's Tartan Green (Ire), ridden by Galligan, to win the $20,000 Maiden Claiming Hurdle by 1/2 length over Ice Bar, trained by Sarah Cunith, and Tiger Paw (Ire), trained by Beecher.
