Melynk Racing Stables Inc.’s BISHOP COURT HILL (Holy Bull) broke best from
the far outside and was never headed en route to a one-length score in the
$110,600 Gravesend H. (G3) over the fast Aqueduct inner track Sunday. The
Todd Pletcher trainee established splits of :22, :44 2/5 and :56 2/5 for the
five-eighths, before finishing off the six furlongs in a swift 1:09 1/5. Sent
off as the 7-2 second choice, the gelding rewarded backers with mutuels of
$9.20, $6.10 and $4.50 under John Velazquez.
“I still can’t believe how fast he broke,” Velazquez said. “He’s the kind of
horse that doesn’t like the stick, so I was real happy that he was clear the
whole way. It was a big effort. When he shows up, he’s very tough to run down.”
Santana Strings (Wheaton) closed well on the inside from off the pace to earn
the place, good for $16 and $8.30 at 21-1. The winning exacta was worth $157.
The 9-1-4 trifecta returned $515, with the pacepressing Will He Shine (Silver Deputy)
retaining the third spot a head farther back as the 8-5 choice. Show paid $2.70.
Introspect (In Case) was 4 1/4 lengths in arrears and trailed by Judiths Wild
Rush (Wild Rush), Mantoloking (Unbridled’s Song), Maddy’s Lion (Lion Hearted),
Lucky Gamble (Dove Hunt) and Spooky Mulder (Brunswick).
Bishop Court Hill earned his third stakes win of 2006 while upping his mark to
29-8-5-3, $582,290. The six-year-old captured the Carter H. (G1) and Paumonok
H. this season as well as placing in the Bold Ruler H. (G3) and Toboggan H. (G3).
Bred in the Bluegrass State by Pam DuPont LLC, the winner attracted a bid of
$350,000 at the 2002 Fasig-Tipton February Two-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale. The
chestnut is out of the stakes-winning Just Cuz (Cormorant) and was preceded in
stakes glory by four-time stakes hero Come On Get Happy (Cure the Blues).
Bishop Court Hill has an unnamed yearling half-brother by Out of Place.