The Hill Prince (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
AQU- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Inner Turf
October 22, 2022

We would have ourselves a tight finish at the wire in The Hill Prince, and after examining the photo, it would be Cascade King earning the win for Nakamura Stables marking the second win in a row for the trainer. Unfortunately for him, Cascade King will be unable to follow the same script as Nevada Silver did last year as that one won both the Hill Prince and the BC Mile. Cascade King does not have enough points to qualify for the race. That won’t stop the trainer from enjoying the win, and he knows that Nevada Silver will be back at the BC, anyway. It’s the first graded win for Cascade King, who turns a couple close calls at this level into a victory. Nakamura has three wins in this race now, having also won in 2014 with the late Broadway Singer. Jockey D E Centeno is a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:45.66. Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :46.99)- To The Mattresses is anything but sleepy in the early going, jumping out to a lead of nearly three lengths for Threshold. Running side by side for second after that gap, we have Oh Brother on the rail for Rampage Stable and Cadillac Jack right beside him for Mb Stables. Looking to join them while running three wide is the Winning Link Stables- trained Simply Magic. Running in the middle of the field, we have Maxmillion Farm’s Penal Hockey Party on the rail, and the eventual winner of the race, Cascade King, from Nakamura Stables. Trailing are Cage Rage (Nakamura Stables) and Check Yo Self (Mb Stables).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.08)- Running down the backstretch, To The Mattresses is still in control of the race with an uncontested two and a half length lead. There is not much changeover in the running order behind him, as we mainly see some side by side movements in the middle of the field as jockeys look for their running lanes in the turn. Simply Magic did use his outside lane well and seemed particularly poised to make a good run when rounding the turn.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- For a little while in the turn, To The Mattresses looked like he was still in good stride, but midway through, this horse was clearly showing signs of fatigue. The rest of the field began to quickly close in and it looked as though the first two that would get to him would be both Cadillac Jack and Simply Magic. Oh Brother seemed to have a good lane along the rail to make a great run. As for Cascade King, he was still in the middle of the field, but only a length behind Cadillac and Simply Magic while being positioned to come on through between them.

(Finish- 1:45.66)- To The Mattresses does his best to hold on, and hangs around a little longer in the stretch than it seemed as though he was going to. Eventually, Simply Magic goes on by with a little less than a furlong to go. During this time, Simply Magic had pulled about a length ahead of Cadillac Jack. Cascade King continued to reel them in, but it still seemed as though Simply Magic was going to hold on, even as the wire was approaching. But D E Centeno and Cascade King did not give in, and in the very last stride, he would get a head up on Simply Magic to score the victory. They would be a half length ahead of Penal Hockey Party, who began to turn it in on midway through the stretch, but ran out of time. Cadillac Jack is fourth, then To The Mattresses. Cage Rage, Oh Brother, and Check Yo Self round it out.

About The Winner- Cascade King, trained by Nakamura Stables and ridden to victory by D E Centeno, is a three year old colt by Storming and is out of Follow Trajectory. He was bred in Pennsylvania by Team 7 Illusions as a first quarter two year old, and was acquired by Nakamura Stables via Broken Spoke Stables for $75.000 in a February 2022 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! Team 7 Illusions bred both the Noble Damsel and Hill Prince winner, but got a combined $17.770 for them in sales! For Cascade King, it is his fourth win in twelve starts, his second stake win and first graded win. His career earnings are now $367.460.

Track: Firm
Time: :46⁴  1:10   1:33³  1:45³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 5 Paid 43.30
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 5 – 1 Paid 335.40

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES