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Teddy Davies, a 22-year-old jockey, celebrated a significant victory at the 123rd Grand National timber race in Butler, winning twice in one day. His triumph marked a personal redemption for the young rider.
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(Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/TNS)
It was a little sweeter than a typical win for Teddy Davies this week.
The 22-year-old jockey raised his fist and flashed a wide smile in the winner’s circle Saturday, clad in red and gold silks after winning the 123rd running of the Grand National timber race in Butler.
About 40 minutes later, he was back again — different colors, same result.
Davies claimed the fifth Grand National Maiden Timber, surging late in a navy, star-studded kit for his second win of the day. For a moment, a third seemed possible.
It felt like redemption for Davies a week after being disqualified from a first-place finish at My Lady’s Manor.
“Take me down and I keep going,” Davies joked. “I didn’t let that discourage me. It’s definitely a good feeling.”
At the Grand National, nothing comes easy.
Shorter than the Maryland Hunt Cup but run at a quicker pace, the 3-mile Butler course demands both speed and precision, its higher, unforgiving timber fences leaving little margin for error.
“It’s a blend of conditioning and jumping expertise — you have to get it right to win,” said race co-chairman Ned Worthington.
Since the race moved to its current course in 1946, 16 horses have won both the Grand National and the Hunt Cup. But 15 Hunt Cup winners have come to Butler and left without a victory.
Even the best don’t always survive it.
“There was a lot that happened during that race,” Davies said. “It was a bit faster than I thought it would be.”
Midway through the Grand National, a horse missed a flag and cut across the course, taking another with it and forcing a split-second decision behind.
“So I had a couple options — take back or try to beat them to the fence,” Davies said. “I sent my horse. It was risky, but we got it and avoided the rest of the chaos.”
The field clear the second fence during the 60th running of the Benjamin H. Murray Memory Steeplechase race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Jockey Eric Poretz celebrates his win with Recoup in the 60th running of the Benjamin H. Murray Memory Steeplechase race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Competitors running in the 60th Benjamin H. Murray Memory Steeplechase race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) The eventual winner Recoup (2) with jockey Eric Poretz, center, clear the third fence during the 60th running of the Benjamin H. Murray Memory Steeplechase race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) The Ballybreen Fox with jockey Teddy Davies go off course and crash through the 16th fence to avoid colliding with another horse during the 60th running of the Benjamin H. Murray Memory Steeplechase race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Competing horses parade before the running of the 5th Grand National Maiden Timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Pavoni, with jockey Teddy Davies, center, clears the third gate during the 5th Grand National Maiden Timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Pavoni (2) with jockey Teddy Davies, center, outrun Itsknownasthebern (1) to win the 5th Grand National Maiden Timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Jockey Teddy Davies, right, fist bumps trainer Todd McKenna after winning the 5th Grand National Maiden Timber race with Pavoni.. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Mr. Fine Threads (5) with jockey Teddy Davies win the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Bill Carlson, of Boring, Md., serves as bar tender at his and wife\xe2\x80\x99s tailgate party during the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Mr. Fine Threads (5) with jockey Teddy Davies, left, clears the 4th fence during the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Martha Washington tree topper sits on a horse overlooking a spread of good eats at the America\xe2\x80\x99s 250th themed tailgate the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Mr. Fine Threads (5) with jockey Teddy Davies clear the final fence to win the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Mr. Fine Threads (5) with jockey Teddy Davies, right, avoid a riderless horse, left, and clears the 11th gate on the way to win the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Mark Kaltenborn, left, of Potomac, Md., takes pictures of son Jack with a big USA hat at their America\xe2\x80\x99s 250th themed tailgate at the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Mr. Fine Threads (5) with jockey Teddy Davies clear the 12th gate on the way to win the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Mr. Fine Threads (5) with jockey Teddy Davies, center, is in the middle of the pack early on during the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Ed Funk, left, of Hereford, blows soap bubbles for granddaughter Navy Witman, 2, at the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Jockey Teddy Davies raises the trophy after riding Mr. Fine Threads to win the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) A prancing horse statue at one of the tailgate party at the 123rd running of The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Show Caption1 of 22Mr. Fine Threads (5) parades in the paddock before racing and winning the 123rd The Grand National Steeplechase, a demanding three-mile timber race. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff)
Teddy Davies won the 123rd running of the Grand National timber race, achieving two victories in one day.
Teddy Davies is 22 years old.
Teddy Davies wore red and gold silks during his first victory at the Grand National.
His victories at the Grand National represent a personal redemption for the young jockey.

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He settled from there, saving enough for the uphill finish — where races are often decided before the final fence. The purse for that win was $50,000, with Davies adding another $15,000 in the second race.
That second win came differently.
In the maiden timber, Make a Stand, ridden by Whitney Schweizer, opened a massive lead — as much as 80 lengths at one point. Davies stayed patient.
“I figured he was going too fast,” he said. “You have to judge pace real well.”
By the final turn, the gap disappeared. Davies didn’t miss his moment, surging ahead while Make a Stand faded out of the top four.
Not every race broke clean.
In the Benjamin H. Murray Memorial Steeplechase, a horse in front failed to clear a fence, triggering another wave of chaos. Davies’ mount, The Ballybreen Fox, drifted toward a higher side fence and crashed through it instead of falling, but was disqualified as a result.
It was a narrow escape in a sport that rarely offers them. Davies broke his collarbone at this race three years ago. He broke his hand at last year’s Hunt Cup.
“It was just a lot of carnage,” he said. “You’re seeing horses go down around you, in front of you, on the side of you. You just have to survive it.”
Davies has been learning how to survive it his entire life.
“I was pretty much born into it,” he said.
His mother, Blythe Miller, rode professionally. His father, Joseph Davies, rode as an amateur. Both won the Maryland Hunt Cup. Davies was on a pony at 2, moved through the pony circuit and began racing against professionals at 16.
When he won the Hunt Cup in 2022, the family became the first mother-father-child trio to all claim the race.
Now a senior at the University of Delaware, Davies balances school with a career shaped long before he arrived in Butler.
For his father, the wins carry a different weight.
“It’s just fantastic,” Joseph Davies said. “There’s no feeling like galloping into a fence at 30 miles an hour, having the horse jump it and land clear and winning — and then also seeing your son do that.”
Joseph, now a trainer, said what separates his son isn’t just experience.
“He has a real rapport with the horses,” he said. “He doesn’t ask them to do too much. He waits, listens, and then asks — and they deliver for him.”
A week earlier, Davies thought he had his moment at the 115th running of My Lady’s Manor, crossing the finish line first before a post-race weigh-in revealed he was less than a pound under the required riding weight, nullifying the win.
His horse’s owners are appealing the ruling, but the result — for now — stands.
“Coming out here and winning the first two after that detrimental decision [last week] feels good,” Davies said.
Recoup, ridden by Eric Poretz, claimed the Benjamin H. Murray Memorial Steeplechase and its $20,000 purse. After a lengthy delay caused by several falls and injured jockeys, Paddy Barlow captured the 21st running of the Western Run Plate II and its $15,000 purse.
Barlow, racing in the United States for the first time, had already taken a few hits earlier in the day in the chaotic Grand National and Benjamin H. Murray Memorial.
Asked about the toll, he laughed.
“A bit of adrenaline now,” he said. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll see.”
Next comes the Maryland Hunt Cup — four miles, 22 fences and the sport’s ultimate test.
Davies will be there. And after a week like this, he won’t be arriving empty-handed.
He has momentum — and a shot at his second Hunt Cup victory.
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