Natural Power's upset brings ray of sunshine to Hiles barn
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – This is the first winter Jeff Hiles has spent in Florida, and he’s trying to make the most of it. Hiles, 42, began training on his own in November 2018 after lengthy stints under Kenny McPeek and his father, Rick Hiles.
“I looked up and saw Sam Houston is canceled, Turfway is canceled,” said Hiles, a former Marine who previously spent the wintertime in Kentucky, Arkansas, and other chillier climates. “We’re here enjoying the sunshine and 80 degrees.”
Hiles sent out Natural Power, an Irish-bred gelding, to pop at a $93.80 mutuel in a $56,400 allowance here Wednesday and is optimistic there’s more where that came from. From his first 16 starts at the championship meet, Hiles netted three wins. He has a stable of 18 at the Palm Meadows training center.
“We’re trying to build things up and get ready for Keeneland in April,” he said.
Among Hiles’s clients is Brook Smith, a Louisville businessman and philanthropist who races as Rocket Ship Racing, a newly formed enterprise that made headlines in June when it claimed three unraced 2-year-olds for $100,000 apiece out of the same Churchill Downs maiden race.