The Hillsborough Stakes (Grade 2)- $225.000 Purse
TAM- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
March 12, 2022

Horse racing can be very unpredictable. Virtual horse racing, even more so. When everything seemed to look good for Number Nine to show her class and continue her strong run of form in the Hillsborough Stakes, she won’t even be a part of the exacta. Instead, the win goes to Shining Moments, who’s a very accomplished horse in her own right but her form was not at the same level as Number Nine’s. That made her the longest shot on the board, going off at 38/1. Making her seem a little more unlucky of a winner was the fact that she had never run on an off track for her career, and today was going on yielding turf. Turns out, she likes it that way, as she truly does have a shining moment here in the Hillsborough Stakes. Savoring the win is trainer RNP Stables and jockey M J Sanchez, each of whom win this race for the first time. Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:49.60. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.77)- Number Nine takes the early lead for Smokey Stover as they head down the chute and onto the turf course. She would continue to hold this lead into the opening turn as well with two stalkers right behind her. On the rail, we would have Saddle Up, trained by Our Athletes, and All By Myself, out of TwinTowersRacing, was to her outside. There was a gap behind them of about two and a half lengths to Zalinda (Threshold) and Secret Eyes (Arindel) who ran side by side. After about a length and a half, we would have the trailer and eventual winner, Shining Moments. The RNP Stables entry could see them all in front of her right now.

(¾ Mile- 1:11.93)- Number Nine still runs on the lead and going wire to wire is nothing new for her. So, right now, you had to be thinking things were looking good for her. All By Myself would pull ahead of Saddle Up for second, and started creep a little closer to Number Nine. We still had the big gap between third and fourth as neither Zalinda nor Secret Eyes were making a push. However, Shining Moments was doing so, moving to the third lane and pulling up along side of them, preparing to go on by in the turn.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.6F To Go)- Number Nine was now in trouble, as she was caught by All By Myself, and they were side by side entering the stretch. Saddle Up was unable to join in, and continued to run a length behind them. Meanwhile, the one to watch in the turn was Shining Moments. It had looked like this was going to happen as she set up Secret Eyes and Zalinda at the top of the turn, and she would make it look very easily as she made the pass of each of them. By the top of the stretch, she had put them away, and had about two and a half lengths to the two leaders. Would she have enough time?

(Finish- 1:49.60)- Shining Moments was gaining ground with every stride in the stretch, and with a furlong to go she was about a length and a half from the leaders. Given how quickly she had caught All By Myself, who was the quickest of the top three, you had to be confident that she would at least draw even with them at the wire, if nothing else. Approaching the wire, there was no one better, and there was nothing her rivals could do about it. Shining Moments would end up winning this race by a length, and All By Myself holds on for second. Number Nine gets third in a photo with Saddle Up. Zalinda and Secret Eyes were non factors.

About The Winner- Shining Moments, trained by RNP Stables and ridden to victory by M J Sanchez, is a four year old filly by Creepy Time and is out of Outshined. She was bred in New York as a third quarter two year old by RNP Stables, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eighth in 17 starts, her sixth stake win, and third graded win. Her career earnings are now $1,164.600.

Track: Yielding
Time: :47³  1:11⁴  1:36⁴  1:49³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 4 Paid 89.50
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 4 – 3 Paid 876.40

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES