Capitol Hill impresses; Resilience not ready for return
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Capitol Hill, a full brother to Grade 2 Wood Memorial winner Resilience, may have found his home on a different surface.
After getting beaten by 41 lengths in his debut on dirt at Gulfstream, Capitol Hill won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race on turf by 1 1/4 lengths last Friday at Tampa Bay Downs. Capitol Hill, trained by Bill Mott, beat a heavily bet first-time starter, Uncatalyzed, from the barn of Chad Brown. The rider of Uncatalyzed, Samuel Marin, dropped his whip, but it likely didn’t make the difference between winning and losing.
“I thought he came with a good turn of foot. He looked pretty good to me for just his second out,” Mott said of Capitol Hill, who earned a 76 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.”
Mott said Capitol Hill looks like a horse that wants more distance.
Meanwhile, Mott said Resilience is still not ready to make his return despite working a half-mile in 48 seconds, the fastest of 60 works at that distance last Saturday at Payson Park.
“That was a pretty good little half, but we still have more to do with him. He’s still a little fat,” Mott said.
Resilience, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, was turned out after he finished last in the Belmont Stakes on June 8.
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