The Hill Prince – Grade III

BEL     Race #5            1 3/16m           InTurf                  Graded Stake

Purse $200.00  For Three Year Olds.

1. Ethereum Hack – Family Racing / Zayas

Form: His turf form is excellent and improving. The 7 Sep CNL Grade III second (98) is one of the strongest last‑out figures in the field. He travelled sweetly, sat handy, and stayed on. His SAR run before that (96) also showed he handles tighter turf tracks.

Works: His turf works are outstanding:

• 29 Sep BEL 1m (T) – 1:34.4, 1/12
• 3 Sep PRX 6f (T) – 1:09.3, 1/26

These are serious moves, signaling he’s thriving.

Trainer Pattern: Family Racing tends to bring horses forward gradually, and Ethereum Hack has improved with each turf run. Zayas has ridden him consistently and gets him into rhythm early.

Verdict: A fairly lightly raced and untested sort he has been patiently hadnled by the trainer and his effort in the Old Dominion last time was a career best signalling a trip up his improvement curve. With this draw he will need to keep up early or may find himself having to run round horses but if he can hold the rail one group back he may find a way through as the others drift off the rail down the stretch.

2. Regal Classic – Mo Mentum Farm / Carmouche

Form: The most reliable turf résumé in the race. His DMR Derby (G2) second, 99 fig, is elite. He followed that with a solid KD run (94) where he was forced to chase a hot pace.

Works:

• 3 Oct BEL 4f (T) – :46.1, 1/2 This is a razor‑sharp blowout, exactly what Mo Mentum uses when tightening the screws.

Trainer Pattern: Mo Mentum Farm is one of the most consistent turf outfits in the game. They place horses aggressively and get them fit. Regal Classic is their typical grinder: tough, honest, and always in the frame.

Verdict: An on-pace type perfectly suited by the draw he hails from a yard that produces plenty of winners and going on his strong second in the DMR Derby he will have every chance of the win here. He faded off a strong pace in the Gun Runner last time and that may be his Achilles heel, if the early pace is fast and he tries to stalk it, but with just a normal pace he is a big contender.

3. Platinum – Emerald Racing / Marin

Form: Ultra-consistent. His Tor Cup third (96) was strong, and he’s repeatedly run 92–96 figures all season. He lacks a devastating turn of foot but never runs poorly.

Works:

• 3 Oct BEL 6f (T) – 1:09.4, 1/2
• 14 Sep WO 5f (T) – :58, 1/2

These are excellent, showing he’s holding form and possibly improving.

Trainer Pattern: Emerald Racing tends to keep horses at their peak for long stretches. Platinum is a classic example: consistent, durable, and always finishing.

Verdict: A solid and reliable type who has been steadily educated and on his last effort looks ready to break through at this level. He will go back so will need favors from the race engine to find his way through traffic but he wont be a deep closer so may get first run at the leaders. A chance if he can step up to this level.

4. Harmless Harvest – Pennsville Farm / Prat

Form: Lightly raced but high‑quality. His Ponti Stakes second (96) was excellent—he travelled smoothly and fought hard late. His DMR allowance win (99) shows he can accelerate.

Works:

• 4 Oct BEL 6f (T) – 1:09.3, 2/15
• 24 Aug MTH 6f (T) – 1:09.2, 1/21

These are elite turf works, showing he’s thriving.

Trainer Pattern: Pennsville Farm is superb with lightly raced turf horses. They develop them patiently, and Prat is the perfect rider for this type—smooth, tactical, and patient.

Verdict: The stable continues to impress with the quality they have been pumping out recently and this very lightly raced sort looks right on the edge of becoming a significant three year old.  Eductaed through his first four runs he took on stakes company for the first time last time out and very nearly won so is clearly ready for this step up. His works are very sharp and if luck in running works for him he is a win chance.

5. Yellowbrick Road – D J C Racing / Lezcano

Form: His 2026 form is mixed. He has big back‑class (G1 and G3 placings earlier in the year), but his KD Derby run (92) and SAR allowance (93) suggest he’s just below peak.

Works: BEL turf works are steady rather than sharp:

• 24 Sep BEL 6f (T) – 1:10.4
• 16 Sep BEL 6f (T) – 1:10.4

Not bad, but not the explosive type he showed earlier in the season.

Trainer Pattern: D J C Racing is elite in volume but tends to cycle horses—some peak early, some late. Yellowbrick Road looks in a holding pattern.

Verdict: Classic HRP form lines here with fantastic efforts in top races and then a fourth in an optional claimer right in the middle of it all. Ignoring his run in overnight company his stakes form is top notch and even his run in the Nashville Derby last time although eighth was eye catching. His biggest issue is his turn of foot so tactics will be key here but he certainly has the form lines to win.

6. Self Love – Maletto / Fresu

Form: All dirt form; no turf starts. His dirt graded form is solid (94–96 figs), but the turf switch is a major unknown.

Works: His turf works are slow:

• 20 Aug MTH 1m (T) – 1:35.2, 100/189
• 17 Jul PRX 6f (T) – 1:10, 59/138

These suggest he’s not naturally turf‑quick.

Trainer Pattern: Maletto is excellent with dirt routers but less proven with turf horses. This looks like an experiment.

Verdict: How many times do we see a TC horse switch to the turf and become a world beater? Well enough to give this one serious consideration. Despite winning the Withers and finishing a good fourth in the Gotham he didn’t make any TC races and his form fell away to the point that Mb Stables sold him after a failure at overnight level. The trainer takes the HRP hack here, no turf form, a good career on dirt, could we be seeing another long priced winner following a trend we have seen before?

7. Destined Charge – Mb Stables / Silvera

Form: Strong dirt form earlier in the year (FL Derby win, 98), but turf form is modest: SAR Derby sixth (96) and KD run (96) where he flattened late.

Works: BEL turf works are sharp:

• 3 Oct BEL 6f (T) – 1:09.2, 2/14
• 24 Sep BEL 1m (T) – 1:34.4, 3/7

These are excellent—he may be turning the corner on turf.

Trainer Pattern: Mb Stables is the most dangerous trainer in the game. When their horses show improving turf works, they often jump forward dramatically.

Verdict: Used his natural pace and the wide gate speed push to lead the Gun Runer for a long way last time and had previously stalked in the SAR Derby and was right in that on the turn for home too. Those two efforts were very good and with another wide gate here I would expect pace to be key again. If he gets an uncontested lead at a reasonable pace he may be too hard to get past but if he is challenged early his track record in a  finish isn’t so good. The GOAT will have him primed with the perfect instruction, the rest will be down to the others.

8. Five Dollars Gone – Mojica Racing / Ortiz

Form: Only two starts, both wins, both turf, both long distances. His MNR allowance win was visually impressive—he stayed strongly and drew off.

Works: BEL turf works are sharp:

• 1 Oct BEL 3f (T) – :35.2, 1/1

Short but fast; Mojica often uses short works to keep horses fresh.

Trainer Pattern: Mojica Racing is excellent with turf stayers. This horse is lightly raced and improving rapidly.

Verdict: Wildcard; could be anything but with two wins on the free track and an outside draw in his first ever pay race this looks a big ask even for the HRP random Gods. I would expect him to fly the gate which will cause problems for the pace horses inside him but I can’t see him winning on anything we can see in the form book.

Race Summary:

A nice race with a few promising three year olds. Yellowbrick Road probably has the best form to win this but I rather like Ethereum Hack as a possible danger with an easy rail run. If the Mb runner gets an easy lead we may not need to look any further though.

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES