Hill Road, Crudo Reunite in Jockey Club Derby

A pair of Belmont Stakes (G1) competitors highlight the field of seven for the Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes (G2T) Oct. 4 on the inner turf at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Hill Road , who was fifth in a star-studded Belmont field that included arguably the three best 3-year-olds in the country (Sovereignty , Journalism , and Baeza ), is going to be making his fourth start on turf. However, that journey has not been a linear one. 

The Kentucky-bred son of Quality Road   began his career in Ireland, where he ran twice, most notably seventh in the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes (G1). He then came across the Atlantic for not just a change of scenery, but a change in surface. 

His first time on dirt was the 2024 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), and Hill Road acquitted himself very well, finishing third, 4 3/4 lengths back of the victorious Citizen Bull .

This year, owner Amo Racing USA made another change with a new trainer—Chad Brown. Under Brown's expert guidance, Hill Road has been strong on the dirt despite only having one win in four tries this year. 

Outside of the Belmont, Hill Road hit the board with a win in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) and a pair of thirds: the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and Jim Dandy Stakes (G2). But most recently, the colt moved back to grass and finished third in the Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes (G3T) at Kentucky Downs. 

The other Belmont starter in the field, Crudo , will be making just his second start on turf. 

After running in a pair of maiden races, Crudo truly flashed his potential on the Preakness Stakes (G1) undercard at Pimlico Race Course, winning the Sir Barton Stakes by more than seven lengths. 

But in the Belmont, Crudo had a great start and raced forwardly alongside pacesetting Rodriguez . He remained just off the lead for the opening three-quarters of a mile, then tired and faded down the stretch. 

Crudo followed up the Belmont with a fourth in the Curlin Stakes, and most recently, he took his first stab at turf in the Saranac Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, where he finished fourth. 

The third-place finisher in the Saranac, Asbury Park , will be lined up to the inside of Crudo. 

Chad Brown's second entry in the Jockey Club Derby, Asbury Park is a son of Frankel   and is making his first graded start after four previous starts all at the Spa.

Completing the field are A Bourbon for Toby , Game Warrior , Hammerhead , and Noble Confessor .

Insights from Thoro-Graph

• Asbury Park ran a slight new top last time. He's a lightly raced, borderline contender on number power already, and another forward move would put him in this.
• Crudo has the single-fastest figure in this race, but it came on dirt when he won the Sir Barton Stakes. His first grass try was just OK, but most horses improve second time turf, and he should save ground on the lead around three turns, which is worth a couple of lengths.
• Hill Road ran good dirt figures while getting beaten up by Sovereignty, then last time finished third in a very strong 3-year-old grass stakes at Kentucky Downs by just running back to those figures. He could easily improve second-time grass, and he probably won't have to.
• Noble Confessor comes out of the same fast stakes as Hill Road and ran better than it looked, as he lost ground on the turns. If he pairs that effort, he's in this, but it was a big jump, and a bounce is likely.
• Game Warrior is the only horse in the field that has won a stakes on grass, and he's finished close up in others. But those accomplishments came against a California 3-year-old grass division that has been very weak, and he would need a significant jump just to have a shot at getting into the exacta here.

Thoro-Graph performance figures are calculated based on a race's time with adjustments for beaten lengths, track speed, ground loss, weight carried, and, when necessary, wind. The lower the number, the better the race. Complimentary sheets for this week's race can be found online at Thoro-Graph. Learn more about how to analyze Thoro-Graph data at www.thorograph.com/basics.