Luck Comes in Threes for Channing Hill

Good things came in threes on Friday afternoon for Channing Hill, who landed every third race (third, sixth and ninth) to garner his first hat trick of the meet.  The talented jockey won the third on Commonwealth Stable’s Scorpion Aly and ninth on Glen Hill Farm’s Chiseled for trainer Tom Proctor and the sixth on Carmy Cat Racing’s Bella Serenade for father-in-law Wayne Catalano.

“My business didn’t pick up all that quickly this year, but when you’re tied to these great barns like Proctor and Catalano, you ride some good horses,” Hill remarked after the nightcap victory.  “Tom (Proctor) has given me such a great opportunity with horses like (Chiseled).  I’m really trying ride and concentrate on good horses in good races.  Don’t get me wrong - I’ll ride all kinds of horses - but I’m really focusing on quality over quantity.”

Around this time last year, Hill had a clear lead in the standings before injury necessitated over a month on the bench.  The Nebraska native recovered and returned to ride a total of 47 victories by meet’s end - good enough for sixth place - with the highest strike rate (20%) of any rider in the top 20.  So far in 2014, Hill has 12 wins (again at 20%) to land in a tie for ninth.