THE 2020 American Spring National Hunt season got off to an eagerly anticipated start on last Saturday, June 13rd with the Middleburg Spring Races meet at Glenwood Park in Virginia.

It was a day that made the history books as it became the biggest race card on one given day at a jumps meet with 11 races and a record 115 runners.

It was an especially historic day for Irish jockey Gerard Galligan, who along with 2019 champion steeplechase rider, Michael Mitchell, became the first riders to have 10 rides at an American jumps meet.

Kildare native Galligan managed to ride a treble on the card as well as a fourth in a Grade 3 from his 10 rides, taking him straight to the top of the 2020 leading jockeys’ championship.

This was a mini milestone for him. He endured a transitional period during the 2019 season where he managed six winners during the season due to lack of opportunities and jump racing in America, coming seventh in the championship.

However, Galligan, 29, built up further contacts over the winter and spring and strengthened his relationship with Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, who is the all-time leading steeplechase trainer in America by both wins and earnings.

Two of his winners on Saturday are trained by Sheppard and look hugely exciting prospects, as well as adding Irish flavour to the success of the historic raceday as they were both having their firststarts in America having come from Ireland.

Popular winners

Zoom Zoom Zoe, who won the filly & mare maiden hurdle, will be one of the most popular winners on Saturday on both sides of the Atlantic as not only was she visually impressive on her first start in America, but she comes from the Irish point-to-point scene, having been handled by Ellen Doyle and raced once at Borris House in March, finishing behind two geldings, including the impressive Gars De Sceaux ridden by Jamie Codd.

The win of Zoom Zoom Zoe was made extra special as the four-year-old became the first winner for young Coolmore National Hunt sire Leading Light on the track.

The Irish-bred filly has a pedigree that almost certainly promises to add to her first American win as her dam, Sixofone, is a half-sister to a Grade 1-winning four-year-old in France over fences, Polivalente, who in turn is the dam of a decent yardstick trained by Gordon Elliott: Brelade, who came second in the Grade 1 Future Champions Novice Hurdle at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival in 2016 and also ran well in the Scottish Champion Hurdle and Neptune Novices’ Hurdle.

Another of Galligan’s winners was Hyperlapse, also having his first start in America for Sheppard, taking the waiver maiden claiming hurdle by 15 lengths.

The five-year-old son of Casamento was previously trained in Ireland by Ger Lyons, for whom he had six races and won on his last start in a 10-furlong claimer at Fairyhouse in 2018. He looks to be unexposed and has lots of potential for his new career stateside.

Galligan, former apprentice to Dermot Weld on the Curragh, rode a third horse with Irish background, The Silent Trainer, also trained by Sheppard. Although he could not manage to win, the five-year-old son of Shantou who was placed in three Irish points for Cormac Doyle, came third in the three-mile maiden timber and finished the race off well in a run full of promise.

Galligan’s first winner on Saturday came for another of America’s leading steeplechase trainers, Arch Kingsley Jr, a new contact he made over the winter having spent some time working on his farm in South Carolina.

The horse he won on, Hot Springs, looks another exciting prospect for him to look forward to after winning the $20,000 five-year-old and upwards maiden hurdle in good style on his first start over hurdles.

The five-year-old by Uncle Mo was formerly trained by leading American flat trainer Steve Asmussen and managed to win a listed race and Grade 3 at Churchill Downs in a promising flat career, before leaving for Kingsley’s barn.

The feature event was the $50,000 Grade 3 Temple Gwathmey Hurdle Stakes in which Galligan was fourth on Iranistan, trained by Sheppard, having led all the way until the final flight before the horse got tired on the run-in on his first start of the season.

He also enjoyed pleasing rides aboard Super Saturday, who came fourth in the Middleburg Hunt Cup, run over timber, and Georgie Hyphen (another horse formerly trained in Ireland by Ger Lyons), second in the second division of the waiver maiden claiming hurdle, for trainers Katherine Neilson and David Bourke. Neilson and Bourke are both loyal supporters of the Irishman and are regularly in the winner’s enclosure in any given season.

Momentum

With this strong backing of trainers behind him, Galligan will be hoping to keep the momentum up at the second meet of the season in two weeks’ time at Great Meadow, another track in the state of Virginia, where the feature is the $100,000 Virginia Gold Cup run over timber.

July will see the start of the Saratoga meeting, one of the most prestigious flat tracks in America, and Colonial Downs, which will be regularly shown on Sky Sports Racing, and there will be many top class stakes hurdles staged there until the end of August.

Galligan will be hoping to ride in many of those races aboard some of his exciting winners on Saturday among many other exciting horses from the barns of his many supporting trainers and the season ahead is looking encouraging.