The Hill Prince (Grade 2)- $400.000 Purse
BEL- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Inner Turf
October 23, 2021

Last month in the Grade 3 Saranac up at SAR, Nevada Silver struck gold by going wire to wire in the race for his first graded stake win. It was a close finish, and one of the horses he narrowly defeated was Flesh Of My Flesh. These two would have a rematch, and once again it would be Nevada Silver pulling off of the win. If you thought this race being a little longer could work in Flesh Of My Flesh’s favor, it was anything but as Nevada Silver gets the two length win for the familiar trainer/jockey combination of Nakamura Stables and V R Carrasco. It’s the second win for Nakamura in the stake and the first for Carrasco. Congratulations to them! The race was won in a time of 1:45.17, and that is a stake record for the editions that have been run at nine furlongs. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :46.81)- Nevada Silver is a horse that does his best work going right out to the lead, so there is no surprise in seeing the Nakamura Stables silks out in front in the early going. No one goes up to challenge him, so he is able to lead for the first half mile by about two lengths. Battling for the second spot, we have Kirkland on the rail for Winning Link Stables and Top Of The Crop running to his outside for Maxmillion Farm. They would be joined in the backstretch by Mb Stables- trained King Of Swords. Behind them, there are two lengths to Flesh Of My Flesh (Arindel) and Day Tribe (High Voltage), with the other Day, Day Of The Dragon (John Henry) a length behind them. Then its Cantstopwhatscomin (TwinTowersRacing) and Promised Prince (John Henry).

(¾ Mile- 1:09.88)- Nevada Silver continues to lead down the backstretch and into the turn, and has not had anyone attempt to challenge him for the lead still. For the most part this portion of the race did not see much change in the running order, but for Kirkland, it was probably the beginning of the end as he began to back out of it. Perhaps this could open up a lane for Flesh Of My Flesh to make a bid.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Our leader shows no signs of weakening while going around the turn and entering the stretch, and since this is a horse known for going wire to wire, you had to wonder if Nevada Silver had the race in the bag. Top Of The Crop and King Of Swords were second and third still, but neither were making up any ground. And if this race was going to be like the Saranac for Flesh Of My Flesh he had to get moving, pronto! Kirkland was dropping and the two Days were not advancing. Cantstopwhatscomin and Promised Prince were looking like non-factors, too.

(Finish- 1:45.17)- Nevada Silver leads early in the stretch, and yes indeed, he got away from this field. With no one ever challenging him at any point in the race, he is still in a full stride all the way to the wire and wins this race in a very impressive manner. Flesh Of My Flesh does get second, but this was not like the Saranac where he was close to Nevada Silver. This time, he was simply the best of the rest. Day Of The Dragon and Day Tribe get a payday by finishing third and fourth but were non-factors, themselves. At least they made more than the rest of the field, beating King Of Swords, Top Of The Crop, Cantstopwhatscomin, Promised Prince and Kirkland.

About the Winner- Nevada Silver, trained by Nakamura Stables and ridden to victory by V R Carrasco, is a three year old gelding by Nevada Brave and is out of Luciana. He was bred in Florida as a third quarter two year old by Nakamura Stables, the only trainer for which he has ever known! Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in nine starts, and his second stake win, each being graded. His career earnings are now $455.250.

Track: Firm
Time: :46⁴  1:09⁴  1:33¹  1:45

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 5 – 2 Paid 47.20
$1 Trifecta: 5 – 2 – 3 Paid 1,478.90

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES