Third Coast takes care of business in G3 Hill Prince
Glen Hill Farm’s Kentucky homebred Third Coast landed his first graded stakes victory with a well-measured ride from Jose Lezcano in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Hill Prince, a 1 3/16-mile inner turf route for sophomores, at Belmont Park.
Trained by Tom Proctor, the son of Uncle Mo improved from a runner-up effort to Siyouincanada last out in the two-turn mile Gio Ponti on September 7 at Saratoga Race Course, a race that also saw its sixth-place finisher Doubting Thomas exit to capture today's Bricks and Mortar at Belmont. Earlier this summer, Third Coast also contested the Spa's Grade 1 Belmont Derby and Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame with respective sixth and fifth-place finishes.
Proctor said Third Coast is back in his groove two starts after a pacesetting run in the Hall of Fame.
“He didn’t settle that one race at Saratoga and it kind of screwed everything up. It took a race to get him to settle down,” said Proctor, who teamed up with Lezcano for their second collaborative victory on the card after taking Race 1 with promising maiden-winner Hullabaloo Ray Ray.
The winner of Monmouth Park’s Jersey Derby in May landed back in the winner’s circle with a prominent trip, breaking sharpest from the outermost post 9 and racing keenly as Bull Shoals asserted himself early on the inside and marked the opening quarter-mile in 24.56 seconds over the firm footing with a short gap back to Lennox the Grey and Chambersville.
“Any time a horse can get around that first turn, second – he had a pretty easy trip,” Proctor said of the perfect trip engineered by Lezcano.
Bull Shoals pulled clear down the backstretch through the half-mile in 49.80 and maintained his advantage through three-quarters in 1:13.97 before Third Coast crept closer on his flank and Chambersville went three-wide in pursuit.
Third Coast took command at the top of the stretch and drove clear through the lane, keeping on strongly with large strides with Chambersville running on evenly. The favored Caroline St. Beat, who tracked in mid-pack down the backstretch – rallied into second with good energy between rivals under Manny Franco, but ran out of time as Third Coast stayed on for the 1 1/4-length score in a final time of 1:54.93.
Bull Shoals fought on to land third by a neck over the oncoming Print with Chambersville, Lennox the Grey, Protect and Defend - who hopped at the start, Versailles Road and Heeere’s Johnny completing the order of finish.
Lezcano said Third Coast appreciated the Belmont inner turf course.
“Very good trip. I think the big, open track helped today to relax him,” said Lezcano, who has now been aboard Third Coast for his last five starts. “When he gets a straight and a clear path, he’s a different horse. When he sits inside, he’s more intimidated. Today, with the trip I got, when I asked him, he took off and got on with it.”
Proctor added Third Coast is now likely to be pointed to the 1 5/16-mile Grade 2, $500,000 Jockey Club Derby on November 28 here.
“It’s good to win a race, we’ll leave him here for the next one,” he concluded.
Franco said the Miguel Clement-trained New York-bred Caroline St. Beat – winner of the Grade 2 Nashville Derby off one week's rest last out – would have benefitted from a swifter pace.
“The pace was slow. I was riding my horse the way the race set up,” he said. “I was maybe a little bit further [back] because of the pace, but my horse was travelling well. I just couldn’t get there.
“I got through when I wanted,” Franco added. “He just lengthened at the end. I kept coming and coming but the horse on the lead, he stole it.”
Third Coast is out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Marketing Mix, a multiple graded stakes-winning multimillionaire for these connections that won two Grade 1s and landed second in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Third Coast banked $110,000 in victory while improving his record to 7-3-1-0 and returning $13.76 on a $2 win wager.
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