| Hill Prince | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Princequillo |
| Grandsire | Prince Rose |
| Dam | Hildene |
| Damsire | Bubbling Over |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | February 20, 1947 |
| Country | USA |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Meadow Stud, Inc. |
| Owner | Christopher Chenery |
| Trainer | Casey Hayes |
| Record | 30:17-5-4 |
| Earnings | $422,140 |
| Major wins | |
| Cowdin Stakes (1949) Wood Memorial Stakes (1950) Withers Stakes (1950) American Derby (1950) Jockey Club Gold Cup (1950) Jerome Handicap (1950) Sunset Handicap (1950) New York Handicap (1951) San Marcos Handicap (1952)Triple Crown wins: Preakness Stakes (1950) | |
| Awards | |
| DRF American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt (1949) DRF American Champion Three-Year-Old Colt (1950) American Horse of the Year (1950) DRF & TRA American Champion Older Male Horse (1951) | |
| Honours | |
| United States Racing Hall of Fame (1991) #75 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century Hill Prince Stakes atBelmont Park | |
| Last updated on October 31, 2006 | |
Hill Prince (1947–1970) was an AmericanThoroughbredracehorse. He was one of the leading American two-year-olds of 1949, alongsideOil Capitol andMiddleground. In 1950, he ran fifteen times, winning races including thePreakness Stakes,Wood Memorial Stakes,Withers Stakes,American Derby,Jockey Club Gold Cup,Jerome Handicap andSunset Handicap and being namedAmerican Horse of the Year. Hill Prince raced for two further seasons and had some success despite a number of injuries and training problems. He later became a moderately successful breeding stallion.
Hill Prince was a bay horse sired byPrincequillo, a leading racehorse who became a highly successful breeding stallion. Hill Prince was one of his first crop of foals. His dam Hildene went on to produceFirst Landing, theAmerican Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1958.[1] The colt was bred in at his ownerChristopher Chenery's Meadow Farm stud nearDoswell,Virginia. Hill Prince was trained for Chenery by J. H. "Casey" Hayes.
At age two Hill Prince won six of the first seven races he entered, his only defeat coming when he failed to recover from a poor start in theSapling Stakes. AtAqueduct Race Track in September he won theCowdin Stakes to establish himself as one of the season's leading juveniles, coming from last place on a muddy track to win by two and a half lengths from Selector in a track record time of 1:16.6.[2] At the end of the year he was votedAmerican Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, in theDaily Racing Form poll.[3] In the rivalTurf and Sport Digest poll he was narrowly defeated by Oil Capitol,[4] while Middleground was top-rated in theExperimental Free Handicap.
From the start of the 1950 season, Hill Prince was regarded as one of the main contenders for the Triple Crown races, along withOil Capitol,Middleground, and the Californian coltYour Host.[5] On his seasonal debut he won the Experimental Handicap No. 1 at Jamaica, leading to him being promoted to challenge Oil Capitol as Derby favorite.[6] Two weeks later, however, he finished ninth behind lightly weighted Lotowhite in the Experimental Handicap No. 2 at the same track.[7] Less than a week after this effort, Hill Prince re-established his position at the head of the Derby contenders with a two-length win over a strong field, including Middleground, in theWood Memorial.[8]
Ridden byEddie Arcaro in theKentucky Derby, Hill Prince finished second to Middleground. A week after his defeat in the Derby, Hill Prince reversed the form with Middleground when beating the Derby winner by one and a half lengths in theWithers Stakes at Belmont.[9] Following this victory, Hill Prince started favorite for thePreakness Stakes and recorded a decisive win over Middleground, drawing away in the straight to win by five lengths from the "Texas Terror" in front of a crowd of 30,000.[10] Shortly after his win in the Preakness, Hill Prince was matched against older horses in theSuburban Handicap and finished third to Loser Weeper, having reportedly bled from his nostrils at the finish.[11] In theBelmont Stakes Hill Prince fought Eddie Arcaro's attempts to restrain him and took the lead in the early stages but tired badly towards the finish and finished seventh to Middleground.[12]
Later in June, Hill Prince started favorite for theDwyer Stakes and led by three lengths entering the straight, but was overtaken in the closing stages and beaten one and a half lengths by Greek Song. In August, Hill Prince faced a field including Your Host in theAmerican Derby and displayed "blistering speed" in the last six furlongs to win by one and a half lengths from All Blue.[13] In September, he won theJerome Handicap. As usual, he was towards the back of the field in the early stages before producing a "sensational" run to take the lead in the straight and win easily.[14] In theJockey Club Gold Cup over two miles at Belmont in October, Hill Prince established his position as the best horse in America as he "cakewalked" to a four length victory over the Irish-bredNoor.[15] In November, Hill Prince was sent to California to take on Your Host on the latter's home ground in the Thanksgiving Day Handicap and was beaten in a photo finish in front of "40,000 howling fans".[16] Hill Prince stayed in California for his last two starts of the year: he finished third to Noor in theHollywood Gold Cup and then won theSunset Handicap, coming from the back of the field to overtake thechampion fillyNext Move in the closing stages.[17] At the end of the season, Hill Prince was selected as Horse of the Year in all three major polls (Daily Racing Form, Thoroughbred Racing Association,Turf and Sport Digest).[18]
In January 1951, Hill Prince sustained a broken bone in his right hind leg when being prepared for theSanta Anita Maturity[19] and was forced to miss the first eight months of the season. In September, he returned to run third in an allowance race atAqueduct Race Track and then carried top weight to a five length victory in theNew York Handicap at Belmont.[20] In the following month Hill Prince failed to repeat his win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup when he was caught close to the finish and narrowly beaten byCounterpoint.[21] A week later, Hill Prince again finished fourth to Call Over in theTrenton Handicap. Hill Prince's performances were still good enough to be voted 1951'sHandicap Horse of the Year in theDaily Racing Form and Thoroughbred Racing Association polls.[22][23] TheTurf and Sport Digest award was won byCitation.[24]
As a five-year-old, Hill Prince won theSan Marcos Handicap at Santa Anita in February,[25] but finished fifth when favorite for theSanta Anita Handicap. Subsequent examinations revealed "filling" in the horse's right foreleg[26] and Hill Prince was retired tostud.
Hill Prince stood at theClaiborne Farm where he sired twenty-three stakes race winners including the 1957American Champion Three-Year-Old FillyBayou[27] as well asCoaching Club American Oaks winnerLevee and theGardenia Stakes winner Pepperwood. He was more important as a sire of broodmares and was the damsire of Hall of Fame horses,Shuvee andDark Mirage.[28] Hill Prince died in 1970 and was interred at the Meadow Stud, next toSun Beau.[29]
In 1991 Hill Prince was inducted into theNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.[30]
| Sire Princequillo | Prince Rose | Rose Prince | Prince Palatine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eglantine | |||
| Indolence | Gay Crusader | ||
| Barrier | |||
| Cosquilla | Papyrus | Tracery | |
| Miss Matty | |||
| Quick Thought | White Eagle | ||
| Mindful | |||
| Dam Hildene | Bubbling Over | North Star | Sunstar |
| Angelic | |||
| Beaming Beauty | Sweep | ||
| Bellisario | |||
| Fancy Racket | Wrack | Robert le Diable | |
| Samphire | |||
| Ultimate Fancy | Ultimus | ||
| Idle Fancy (Family 9-b[32]) |