No pretenders – just contenders – among Brown trio in Hill Prince
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown has won at least one stakes each of the first five weekends of the Belmont Park fall meet and has an excellent chance to continue that run in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Hill Prince for 3-year-olds on turf.
Brown sends out the trio of Public Sector, Sifting Sands, and Founder in the Hill Prince, which drew a field of 11 and is scheduled for 1 1/8 miles.
Public Sector is coming off graded wins at Saratoga in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes and the Saranac Stakes. The former was at a mile, the latter at 1 1/16 miles.
“I’m very confident,” Brown said when asked about Public Sector’s ability to navigate nine furlongs. “The horse has really progressed all summer and into the fall. He’s a bigger, stronger horse.”
Public Sector has finished first or second in 7 of 8 career starts. His worst finish was a 12th-place finish in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, and he emerged very sick from that race, according to Brown.
Sifting Sands, by Dubawi, recorded two narrow victories at Saratoga at big prices. He won a first-level allowance at 28-1 in July before taking the Better Talk Now Stakes at 8-1 on Aug. 29. Prior to that, Sifting Sands had finished last in the Woodhaven in April at Aqueduct. That day, Brown recalled this past summer, jockey Manny Franco got into a tug of war with Sifting Sands.
Brown believes that “given his pedigree” Sifting Sands will have no problem stretching out to 1 1/8 miles.
Brown’s third entrant is Founder, who is coming off a fifth in the Saranac. Brown is relying on this ridgling’s pedigree to help him navigate the nine furlongs of the Hill Prince.
“This is the toughest field he’s ever faced, but I do feel the 1 1/8 miles will suit him,” Brown said of Founder, a son of Upstart.
The last horse to beat Public Sector was Original, who did so in the one-mile Manila Stakes here July 4. Original raced in the Hall of Fame Stakes but clipped heels in deep stretch and was pulled up by jockey Luis Saez. He has been freshened and trained toward this race by John Terranova, who is intrigued by stretching out the front-runner to 1 1/8 miles.
“We wanted to get a little more ground in front of him,” Terranova said. “He just seems to carry that steady pace pretty well. I think Original has been training fantastic, better than ever. He’s just put on so much weight this summer.”
Never Surprised will likely be a forward factor under Kendrick Carmouche. He has been a bit keen in his last two runs, and trainer Todd Pletcher said it will be up to Carmouche to get the horse to relax early on.
Solider Rising is shortening up from two excellent tries when second in the Saratoga Derby, at 1 3/16 miles, and the Jockey Club Derby, at 1 1/2 miles.
“It’s a question if he can be as efficient going shorter,” trainer Christophe Clement said. “His works have been very good. I worked him to put a bit of speed into him, and he worked well.”
Joel Rosario will have to navigate a trip on Soldier Rising from the outside post in this 11-horse field.
Hilliard, Slicked Back, It Can Be Done, War Bomber, and He’spuregold complete the field.