Derby Remix: California will always be a part of Hill Rise
August 28th, 2020
"As usual, I'm in a tricky predicament
Weather in my thoughts, on the roof sneaking a cigarette
Dear California, it's been nice to know you
Tell me, will you miss me when I'm gone?"
Usually songs about California portray it as the promised land. In her song, "Dear California," Vanessa Carlton acknowledges that California was important, but knows her place is... she's not sure yet exactly where, but definitely outside of the Golden State.
California was kind to Hill Rise, as kind as it has been to almost any horse. Hill Rise was bred there, and raced as a homebred for George A. Pope Jr. Off a six-length romp in the Santa Anita Derby, he was the West Coast star, the 1964 Kentucky Derby favorite. Despite a wide trip in Louisville, he stayed on, gaining all the way to the wire. Only the long neck of the great Northern Dancer, who ran the Derby in a then-record two minutes flat, stood between Hill Rise and the roses.
He held his own in the big races outside of California the rest of the year. He finished third in the Preakness and third in the Travers.
At the age of 4, he shined in California again, when he wore down Candy Spots in the Santa Anita Handicap. He carried his best east, too, where he won the Man o' War by six lengths at Aqueduct.
"And you keep my memory, hope you keep me close
Would you love me as I leave?"
At 5, Hill Rise began his season in California again. He won the San Antonio Handicap, though he couldn't repeat in the Big 'Cap. Pope imagined an even bigger future for Hill Rise — the English turf.
Let off a 20-1 longshot in the Rous Memorial Stakes at Royal Ascot, he beat odds-on Silly Season by a head. On the strength of that victory, and one later in the year in the Queen Elizabeth II, Hill Rise was named England's best miler of 1966.
After his European triumphs, he came back to the U.S., though not to California. Fitting such a distinguished career, his future lied far from the Golden State, after all — in the Bluegrass, at Claiborne Farm.
Derby Remix is a weekly series that crosses the lines of culture and Kentucky Derby contenders.
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