Amo Racing‘s Hill Road is being considered for the GI Belmont Stakes following his victory in the GIII Peter Pan Stakes at Aqueduct Saturday.
“He bounced out of the Peter Pan in good shape,” trainer Chad Brown said Sunday. “Hopefully once we get him under tack and he’s healthy and good, we will go onto the Belmont.”
The Quality Road colt won his debut at Leopardstown last August before finishing third behind champion Citizen Bull in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar last November for trainer Adrian Murray.
After transferring to Brown’s stable, Hill Road opened 2025 with a third-place effort in the Mar. 8 GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. He had been expected to contest the GII Wood Memorial Stakes before being sidelined by a fever.
Brown expressed confidence in the colt’s Peter Pan performance.
“I was not surprised–it was a good spot for him,” Brown said. “After a little bit of a layoff, it was a reasonable spot for him to get going again. It wasn’t too difficult of a race, it was at the right distance, at least off a layoff, and I think at a mile and a quarter, you’ll see the best of him. That’s what he’s been looking for.”
The 147th running of the Belmont Stakes — the final jewel of the Triple Crown — is scheduled for June 7.
Brown also reported that reigning 3-year-old champion Sierra Leone worked four furlongs in :50 flat (131/187) over the Belmont Park dirt training track Sunday.
The Gun Runner colt, who finished third in the GII New Orleans Classic in his 4-year-old debut Mar. 22, is being pointed toward the June 28 GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs.
“He is doing fine. He is idling for a little while and is probably not going to run until the Stephen Foster in late June,” said Brown. “Today was a solo [breeze], just maintenance to stretch his legs. I might pick it up with him next week and do something a little more serious.”
