Unfazed by a step up to stakes company, Fondly  outbattled more seasoned rivals to take the March 15 Virginia Oaks in only her second career start for trainer Graham Motion.

After the scratch of morning-line favorite Gowells Delight , a reduced field of six 3-year-old fillies lined up for the $250,000 Virginia Oaks, the newest prep race added on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) during Colonial Downs‘ inaugural spring meet.

Fondly collected 50 points for her win in the 1 1/16-mile Virginia Oaks, placing her in the fourth slot on the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard. With only two starts, the Upstart   filly is currently the most lightly-raced established contender on the Oaks trail.

Purchased by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners for $50,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, Fondly represented the Eclipse colors proudly in her debut, rolling to an eye-catching maiden special weight win at Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 14.

Quick out of the gate on Saturday, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. sat tight on Fondly as she hooked the Kenny McPeek-trained Anonima  to her inside. The pair duked it through swift opening fractions of :23.49, :46.58, and 1:10.59 over a track that produced fast times. Turning for home, Anonima showed no signs of slowing down, forcing Fondly to dig deep to overtake her stubborn rival, who ultimately weakened in the final furlong. Sticking a head in front in deep stretch, Fondly turned away a late challenge from Early On  to score by a half length.

Fondly, sent to post as the 6-5 favorite in her first stakes test, returned $4.40 for a $2 win wager. She completed the distance, which was held around one turn, in 1:42.51.

“It was only her second start, and we knew she could get the distance, but I didn’t want to use her energy early if I didn’t have to,” Ortiz said.  “Last time she missed the break a little bit, but today she broke good, put me in a good position, and when the horse inside started to show speed, I let her go and stuck second. Down the stretch she kept coming all the way to the wire. My filly stepped up today.”

Fellow Florida shipper Early On, also making her stakes debut for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. after a last-out Gulfstream Park win, was a half-length better than Anonima in third. Early On and Anonima picked up 25 and 15 Road to the Kentucky Oaks points, respectively.

Bred in Kentucky by the late Brereton C. Jones, Fondly is the second foal and second stakes winner produced from the winning Istan mare Lifetime Memory , also the dam of 2024 Peter Pan Stakes (G3) winner Antiquarian  (Preservationist ).

Upstart, sire of grade 1 winner Zandon  , stands at Airdrie Stud for $25,000.

Video: Virginia Oaks (BT)

The Virginia teen who was seen bashing an opponent’s head with a baton during a high school track meet held a rally of supporters on Thursday to reiterate her innocence.

The rally came just one day after she was served with a misdemeanor battery and assault charge. 

The student, Alaila Everett, held the rally outside of her school, I.C. Norcom High School, in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Dozens of individuals were seen attending the rally, as Everett delivered a tearful speech, where she thanked her supporters while sobbing. 

“Thank y’all for supporting me,” Everett said to the supporters, as seen in footage by local Virginia news station WAVY. “There’s no one else that wanted to hear my story, except the people that know me and people that know I would never do anything like that, I would never harm anybody. I’m not a fighter, I’m not even confrontational, I wouldn’t even do that on purpose, and I thank y’all for believing in me. I love y’all.”

Everett’s speech was met with loud applause and a chant of “We stand with you.”

Portsmouth NAACP President James Boyd also spoke at the rally, alleging threats and slurs that have been directed at Everett’s family.

“The Everett family has experienced racial slurs, they’ve experienced death threats, and we think unequivocally that those things are unacceptable,” Boyd said.

Local community activist Germain Green called for unity from the community in support of the teenager. 

“It bothered me to my heart to see how the whole world was dragging this young lady, dragging her character based on what they thought they saw. I just wanted to step up, speak out, and bring unity and let this young lady know that the city of Portsmouth has her back,” Green said.

Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Office confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday that one misdemeanor charge of assault and battery had been filed over the incident. 

The incident occurred last Tuesday during a championship meet, as footage showed Everett smashing her baton onto the head of Brookville High School junior Kaelen Tucker during a relay race.

Everett and her whole team were disqualified.

Tucker was later diagnosed with a concussion and possible skull fracture, as footage of the incident went viral. 

Everett has since said the hits were accidental, in interviews with WAVY and “Good Morning America.” 

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) previously issued a statement to Fox News Digital on the matter. 

“The VHSL does not comment on individuals or disciplinary actions due to FERPA,” the league’s statement read. “The actions taken by the meet director to disqualify the runner were appropriate and correct. We thoroughly review every instance like this that involves player safety with the participating schools. The VHSL membership has always made it a priority to provide student-athletes with a safe environment for competition.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Portsmouth Public School District for comment from the Everett family.

Prior to the misdemeanor charges being announced on Everett, the Portsmouth NAACP released a statement defending the embattled teen on Wednesday. 

“Alaila is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that in any way is shameful. We understand the sensitivity of the circumstances for both athletes and their families involved but this narrative must not go unaddressed,” the statement read.  

“Alaila is an honor student and a star athlete at the historic I.C. Norcom High School. From all accounts, she is an exceptional young leader and scholar whose athletic talent has been well documented and recognized across our state. She has carried herself with integrity both on and off the field and any narrative that adjudicates her guilty of any criminal activity is a violation of her due process rights.”

Fox News Digital’s Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

GREENE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) – The elimination of a USDA grant program is putting financial pressure on some farmers and producers here in central Virginia and beyond.

Sarah Morton, Operations Manager at Cattle Run Farm in Greene County, says the end of this funding marks a significant interruption of the state’s food networks.

“We’re in a really turbulent time right now,” Morton said. “But as Americans, we’re very resilient.

Morton helps lead the Local Food Resiliency Program, a partnership with 27 producers across Virginia, from Fredericksburg to Lynchburg.

With federal grant money from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Program, or LFPA, producers within this program were able to supply food banks and pantries with fresh, nutritious produce. Last year, Cattle Run Farm supplied Loaves & Fishes in Albemarle County with a significant amount of beef.

“It’s really critical to make sure that our food closets and food pantries have healthy proteins,” Morton said. “We have to make sure that communities are eating healthy.”

But now, those LFPA grants are gone. Pantries are no longer getting this fresh food, and Morton and other producers are not getting paid for it.

“It’s really going to impact the agrarian industry immensely,” Morton said. “Now, I think farmers are really going to have to look at, how do we pivot to sustain, and some of them will have to lean into their reserves, if there is some.”

The Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience and Access Coalition, better known as MAFRAC, helps bring together farmers, food relief organizations, businesses, and others across the region to try to strengthen these connections.

Executive Director Carla Cash says the slashing of these funds simply means less food will go to those who need it.

“It’s going to be very devastating to the people that are in hard-to-reach areas and areas where there are food deserts,” Cash said.

In addition, producers who had already grown crops in anticipation of these grants are now without a market to sell them to.

“It’s definitely a big threat to our continuing to be able to farm and to provide that level and that quality of access to our communities,” said Stephanie Miller, Owner of MysticPine Farm in Campbell County. “I mean, I don’t even know if most of us are going to be able to recover.”

Now, Morton is asking the community to build relationships with local producers and invest in small farms, including shopping at farmers markets and calling on local governments to make food resiliency a priority.

“Here at Cattle Run Farm…we will never be without opportunities to pivot and be successful,” Morton said.

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