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

This Saturday, the 18th running of The Hill Prince will be taking place, and it is the latest stake to be moving from BEL to AQU this fall. It is a nine furlong event on the inner turf, and we will get to see a field of eight take part in it. When the race first appeared on the calendar, it was only for a $100.000 purse, and that climbed all the way up to $500.000 in 2014 before being cut to $400.000 in 2019. The $300.000 purse this year is the lowest purse in a non-virtual pandemic year since 2013. We’ve got a couple fairly well known horses in this field, but the race will mainly be contested by up and comers. What they would all love to do is follow the lead of 2021 winner Nevada Silver, who went to the BC Mile just two weeks later and ended up winning that as well. The now four year old gelding has run well in 2022, as well, and will be in the BC Turf just as long as trainer Nakamura Stables wants him there, and why wouldn’t he? Nakamura sends two to the gate here as well, let’s meet them and the rest of the field!

#1- Penal Hockey Party (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by Ru Gonzalez)- The trainer has won this race twice before, in both 2017 and 2018. He’ll be hoping one of his more recent purchases can be the third such winner as he acquired Penal Hockey Party around the time the Stanley Cup was won, for $450.000, and he’s won once in three starts since the sale. That victory was the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes at CD, and following that, he looked sharp in Grade 3 VA Derby before settling for third. This should make him one of the top choices here.

#2- Oh Brother (Rampage Stable, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- By a little less than ten bucks, Oh Brother is the highest earner in the field. His last race saw him meet up with Penal Hockey Party, and he stopped that one’s shot of a victory with a strong stretch performance, coming from the middle of the field. He was a 27/1 longshot that day, but he should see no where near those odds again. I’ve seen stranger things on the odds board, so if he does become a longshot, he needs to be a no brainer play. The only recent blip on his record was a Grade 1 (SAR Derby) that may have been too long for him on top of that. He doesn’t see that type of field here.

#3- Cage Rage (Nakamura Stables, ridden by S Elliott)- We can call this one an up and comer, I suppose, but I don’t know if he is even there yet. He’s won twice in ten starts, but each for a low purse. He’s recently been promoted into the ungraded ranks, but in races with a purse of at least $100.000, he has been a non factor. He can earn the label of being an up and comer if he wins here, but he still has something to prove. I’d wonder if he was just here for a tactical reason, but he seems to have the same off the pace style as his stablemate.

#4- Cascade King (Nakamura Stables, ridden by D E Centeno)- This is the one that figures to give Nakamura his best chance at a win. Cascade King has shown that he belongs in this company, with a win in the $75.000 Alcatraz being what propelled him into graded competition. Since then, he has one subpar outing, and one that was much better. In August, he showed what he was capable of in the Grade 2 Secretariat, running third, half a length behind race winner Penal Hockey Party. With that, we know he’s capable. Not the favorite here, but should be respected as a threat.

#5- Simply Magic (Winning Link Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Broke his maiden in his seventh career start, a race that also represented his first time running on the grass. Prior to that, he was running well in high level maidens. After the victory, he was sent to the Grade 2 Henry Championships, a ten furlong race where he placed third. That race was won by Nevada Silver, last year’s Hill Prince victor. He’s a very appealing horse here, as moving to the grass may have been all it took for him to go from good to great. This is an excellent test.

#6- Cadillac Jack (Mb Stables, ridden by Ru Silvera)- Less than a week after running third in the $135.000 Better Talk Now, Cadillac Jack found himself sold by former trainer Team 7 Illusions for $220.000. The Cherokee Sunset gelding would make his debut in Mb silks two weeks after the sale, where he was entered in the Grade 1 WO Mile, but that proved to be too much for him, at least right now. Now, he will see less quality opposition to the point where the same type of effort may be all he needs to be a threat here. It should be a good bounce back opportunity for a horse that has been inconsistent in his career.

#7- Check Yo Self (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- The last time we saw this one, he was running in the same Better Talk Now where Cadillac Jack caught the trainer’s attention. However, Check Yo Self caught the trophy, winning the race in a photo finish. It was his third race win in eight starts, and he has never failed to pick up at least some portion of the purse in any race that he has been in so far. Mb Stables has not challenged him to run in a graded stake yet, but he is surely earned the chance.

#8- To The Mattresses (Threshold, ridden by E Maldonado)- This gelding by Pumba made two starts for his previous trainer before being picked up for $35.000 in private sales. It was not an immediate success story for Threshold, with two races that were anything but pretty at LS and then at FE. He was given a second chance at FE, coming in an optional claimer, where he won and had the trainer thinking big. Last month, he was sent to the Grade 3 Dueling Grounds Derby, and while he never threatened for a win, he did get a fourth place check. He’s not meeting that kind of field here.

Prediction: 2-1-8-7

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES