Woody Allen once said that 80% of success is showing up. The 2017 Maryland Hunt Club demonstrated the truth to that statement when eight out of the 10 starters failed to
finish. The result? Long shot Derwins Prospector crossed the finish line three-quarters of a length ahead of Drift Society to take home the $60,000 winner’s purse.
The Maryland Hunt Cup lived up to it’s reputation as the toughest timber race this year. With three miles to go, only four horses remained. Field leader Old Timer held on until the second to last fence before unseating his jockey.
The unlikely winner was described as a “superb jumper” by Joseph Davies. Unfortunately, last year, he unseated his rider at the first fence. This year, Davies arranged for French jockey, Gozague Cottreau, to take the reins. The pair finished fourth at the Grand National in Butler, where he finished fourth.
Maybe it’s my own ignorance talking, but I’m honestly confused as to why they continue to run a race like the Maryland Hunt Cup that is notorious for so many (often dangerous) falls? Having only 2 finishers out of 10 starters is really quite scary. I’m sure there is a lot of tradition behind the MHC, tradition that I am not familiar with, but I don’t know any other sport – horse related or not – that only has 20% of its starters able to finish. Frankly, I think it’s kinda sad.
The Maryland Hunt Cup is not for the fainthearted but it doesn’t have a history of terrible accidents like the Grand National. Most of the falls (thankfully) look worse than they are. I think this was an unusual year in terms of attrition. Interesting that this is an amateur event. Here’s a link to some of the history: http://marylandhuntcup.com/pdf/MdHuntCupTrophy_MAT042014.pdf