Fox Ridge Connor reaches summit in Mountain Skipper final
June 11, 2005,by Lynne Snierson, publicity director, Rockingham Park
SALEM, NH — Fox Ridge Connor brought home another piece of hardware for the trophy case at Fox Ridge Stable in the $25,000 Mountain Skipper final at Rockingham Park on Saturday, and in the process gave leading driver David Ingraham his third win of a four-win day.
Sent off as the 9-5 second choice in the field of nine three-year-old pacing colts and geldings, Fox Ridge Connor wore down 8-1 shot Due Damage in the stretch to cover the mile in 1:53.1 on a very hot and steamy afternoon. Yonkers Hall, the 4-5 favorite, also made a late challenge and got up for second, and Due Damage held on for third. Fox Ridge Connor paid $5.80, $2.60, $2.20, and keyed a $12.80 perfecta and a $32.40 trifecta.
“God, yes, I am very proud of him,” said an elated Richard Salzillo, who owns the Fox Ridge Stable based in Southington, Ct. “He’s actually been a surprise. He just keeps getting better every week. David broke this colt and with his wife, Kelly Case, trained him as a two-year-old. George Ducharme trains him now, and is doing a great job with him. He’s become a welcome surprise.”
Salzillo’s has every reason to take special pride in his colt as the bay son of Artiscape and the Jate Lobell mare Lady Jate is one of the many homebreds in his 22-horse stable.
“I also raced his mother, and she was a quite a racehorse,” he explained. “Most of her career, she raced at The Meadowlands and did very well. She’s also the mother of Fox Ridge Mary Ann, who won the $25,000 Belle Acton final right here at Rockingham last summer. She’s a good mare and she’s produced some nice looking colts.”
Fox Ridge Connor, now the winner of two straight races at Rockingham, is certainly one of them. In eight starts this year, he has tied the track record at Rockingham for pacing colts his age and won three races while never finishing out of the money. In winning the Mountain Skipper final, he nearly doubled his lifetime earnings to $26,386.
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As the mercury rose into the nineties and high humidity hung over the oval on Saturday afternoon, track records fell. In the seventh race, Big Leage Barry, driven by Drew Campbell and trained by Shaun Callahan for owner William Emmons, broke the mark for four-year-old pacing geldings when he came home in 1:51.3 to eclipse the old mark of 1:52.1.Then in the 10th race, Copperfield G not only beat five other horses in the $12,000 Invitational, but he tied the Big Leage Barry’s mark set three races earlier. Copperfield G was driven by Ron Cushing and is traiend by Jamie Smith for owner Eric Graves. In the 11th and final race on the card, Marced Card set a new track record of 1:51.3 for three-year-old pacing colts in the 11th race at Rockingham on Saturday. Driven by David Ingraham and trained by Donald Brown for Frederick LaFlash, Marced Card broke the old record of 1:52.4 that he had set one week ago and co-owned with Pacific Renegade, Elegant Dreams, and Fox Ridge Connor……Live racing resumes on Sunday with an 11-race card featuring a $10,000 trot. Post time is 1:05 p.m.