Belle Hill held off a wall of challengers Saturday for a length victory in the $50,000 Kent Handicap at Emerald Downs. A heavy favorite in the field of six, the Larry Ross-trained Belle Hill ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.14 for her second consecutive stakes win and is likely to be favored again Aug. 8 in the $65,000 Washington Oaks, the meeting’s final open stakes event for 3-year-old fillies. Belle Hill and jockey Leslie Mawing had to work harder Saturday than many 3-5 shots, and three other horses finished within 1 1/2 lengths of the winner. Ethan’s Baby, who set the pace, finished second, a neck in front of Suva Harbor, who was a half-length in front of Perhaps a Pie. Seeking the Light and Pippa Bou Peep completed the order of finish. Belle Hill, who won the one-mile Irish Day Handicap from well off the pace in her previous start, settled closer to the early leaders in the Kent. After biding his time in tight quarters around the second turn, Mawing found an opening at the top of the lane, and Belle Hill quickly reeled in Ethan’s Baby. From there, it was a long grind to the finish line. “There was a lot of speed in there, so I had to run a smart race,” Mawing said. “I know she’s got the ability to go to the lead because she shot out of the gate at Golden Gate with Russell Baze. I knew there were about three speed horses that were going to come back to me. She’s pretty versatile as far as either being on the lead or coming off the pace. I just opted for the latter.” Belle Hill earned $27,500 for owners James Perkins and Mary Beth Holt-Perkins of Issaquah, Wash., pushing her career earnings to $77,470 from five starts. The owners got involved in racing in 2014 and paid $250,000 for Belle Hill at the Fasig-Tipton summer selected horses of racing age sale last July. She’s by Sky Mesa and from the Point Given mare Sealy Hill.