Field of 11 set for Belmont’s Hill Prince on Saturday
New York Hot List | Friday, October 22, 2021
Though none of the starters in Saturday’s Hill Prince Stakes figure to advance to the Breeders’ Cup, with 11 starters the Grade 2 turf stakes figures to be an entertaining race and a great wagering affair. As usual in New York, Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher will be sending out the main contenders. Brown had a trio of entrants in Public Sector, Sifting Sands, and Founder while Pletcher will saddle Never Surprised, who was second to Public Sector in the Saranac Stakes at Saratoga.
Here’s the Hot List picks for the Hill Prince Stakes:
The $400,000 Hill Prince (G2) at Belmont Park, Saturday, Race 9
(11) Soldier Rising ran second twice since moving from France to join the barn of Christophe Clement. He ran in the Saratoga Derby (G1) and then the Jockey Club Derby at Belmont Park, both times behind excellent European runners. Clement’s top rider Joel Rosario gets on board. (9) Public Sector is one of three horses in this field for Chad Brown whose barn seems to be winning every big race on the grass all over the country. Not only have Brown’s horses been winning but they have also been finishing second to sweep the exactas. Public Sector has two graded stakes victories in a row at Saratoga in the Hall of Fame (G2) and the Saranac (G3). (10) Never Surprised won his first two races as a 2-year-old for Todd Pletcher that included the Central Park. This year, he has a pair of seconds in graded stakes, most recently he set the pace and then yielded to Public Sector. (8) Sifting Sands is another of the Brown runners and he, too, won his last two starts that includes the Better Talk Now at the Spa.
The Hill Prince is the third leg of the Cross Country Pick 5 that combines stakes and allowances from Belmont and Keeneland, as well as the fourth leg of the Late Pick 5 in New York.
The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.