Hill Road, the Colt That Won the Peter Pan and Whose Dam Raced in Argentina

The Son of Quality Road Shone at Belmont at the Big A and Is Now Qualified for the Belmont Stakes; Exotic Notion Carried the RDI Silks at San Isidro, Palermo and La Plata

Hill Road Set for Belmont Stakes Start / NYRA

SOUTH OZONE PARK, New York (Special for Turf Diario).-With a perfectly timed ride from Flavien Prat, Hill Road secured his first stakes victory Saturday, capturing the GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont at the Big A, a $200,000 test over 1 1/8 miles that serves as a prep for the GI Belmont S. at Saratoga.

The son of Quality Road has Argentine roots through his dam, Exotic Notion (Lemon Drop Kid), who campaigned successfully in Argentina carrying the silks of Stud RDI. A four-time winner, she closed out her career with a runner-up effort behind Top Cats (Aussie Rules) in the Listed Clásico Jockey Club de Rosario at La Plata. She’s also a half-sister to City of Light (Quality Road), winner of the GI Pegasus World Cup and GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Trained by Chad Brown, Hill Road rallied from well off the pace to collar McAfee (Cloud Computing) and the favored Captain Cook (Practical Joke) late, stopping the clock in 1:49.22 over a fast track. The win guarantees Hill Road a spot in the June 7 Belmont S., as the top three finishers in the Peter Pan earn exemption from entry and starting fees.

After finishing third in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and repeating that placing in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby in his first start for Brown, Hill Road was targeting the GII Wood Memorial, but a fever forced him off the Kentucky Derby trail.

“It was disappointing not to make the Derby because this colt is really built for a mile and a quarter,” Brown said. “We chose the Belmont path, and today he showed why.”

Prat settled Hill Road in eighth early as Captain Cook carved out fractions of :23.36 and :47.26. Swinging wide into the stretch, Hill Road surged past both of Rick Dutrow Jr.’s runners to win by three-quarters of a length. McAfee held second, a half-length ahead of Captain Cook, with Surfside Moon (Malibu Moon) completing the superfecta.

“He didn’t switch leads in the stretch, but Flavien kept him straight,” Brown added. “It’s something we’ll work on.”

The conditioner, who is still seeking his first Belmont Stakes win, confirmed the colt is headed to Saratoga: “There’s no question the Belmont is next. We already had that in mind after the Tampa race, when Tyler Gaffalione rode him and was really impressed.”

John Velázquez, aboard McAfee, commented: “My horse was focused on his stablemate inside and didn’t see the other one coming.” Dutrow added: “Both horses ran very well. Captain Cook may not be as comfortable going long, but McAfee was terrific.”

Bred in Kentucky by Lynch Bages Ltd. and Camas Park Stud, Hill Road was a $350,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Amo Racing USA.