Belle Hill eyes third straight stakes win in Washington Oaks
AUBURN, Wash. – These are heady times for veteran trainer Larry Ross. On Saturday, he’ll send out Belle Hill as a prohibitive favorite in the $65,000 Washington Oaks at Emerald Downs, and next weekend, he’ll target the Pacific Northwest’s biggest prize with Stryker Phd in the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile.
Stryker Phd has been relentless under Ross’s care, capturing six consecutive Emerald Downs stakes. Yet as good as the late-running Stryker Phd is, Ross is just as enthused about Belle Hill, a 3-year-old filly who has won two stakes in her nascent career, including the 1 1/16-mile Kent Handicap in her last start.
“She could be the best horse I’ve ever trained,” Ross said July 18 after the Kent. “It’s early, but she’s very good.”
Those are big words from a man who has trained two Longacres Mile winners and a host of classy fillies and mares, including Ema Bovary. Ross and his wife, Sharon, have teamed up for 43 stakes victories at Emerald Downs. When Ross says Belle Hill has a chance to be special, it’s probably wise to believe him.
Owners James Perkins and Mary Beth Holt-Perkins paid $250,000 for Belle Hill as a 2-year-old in training. By Sky Mesa and out of the Point Given mare Sealy Hill, she’s particularly well suited for the demanding nine furlongs of the Washington Oaks. Belle Hill captured the one-mile Irish Day Handicap by four lengths in her first try around two turns and won the Kent by a length after an eventful trip.
Ethan’s Baby, who set the pace in the Kent and held on to finish second, figures to take up the running yet again, with Suva Harbor, Perhaps a Pie, and the Hastings shipper Ambleside Park in the second flight. If she runs her usual race, Belle Hill will be in midpack, ready to pounce when the leaders tire.
Key contenders
Belle Hill (Last 3 Beyers: 70-78-70)
* Belle Hill passes the pedigree test. Her dam, Sealy Hill, earned more than $1.7 million during an 18-race career, excelling on dirt, turf, and synthetics, and won at distances from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. Her sire, Sky Mesa, recorded a 103 Beyer Speed Figure in his second start and finished second in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational in 2003.
Ethan’s Baby (Last 3 Beyers: 68-60-78)
* The speed of the race, Ethan’s Baby has been unlucky this year, missing by a nose in the 6 1/2-furlong Seattle Handicap and by a length in the Kent. She didn’t respond to rating tactics in the Irish Day, finishing a distant fifth behind Belle Hill.
Suva Harbor (Last 3 Beyers: 68-67-71)
* Suva Harbor is 0 for 3 at Emerald, finishing third in three straight stakes appearances. She has finished first twice this year, once at Santa Anita in a first-level optional claimer in January and once at Sunland Park in the $50,180 Island Fashion Stakes on Feb. 22. However, Suva Harbor was disqualified from her Sunland victory and placed sixth for causing interference into the first turn.