Neptune's Storm invades from California, wins Belmont's Hill Prince

West coast invader Neptune's Storm pressed the pace and surged to the front inside the sixteenth pole to earn his first graded stakes win in the Grade 2, $400,000 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday.

Ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., Neptune's Storm followed fractions of :25.48, :50.92 and 1:15.60 set by Saratoga Derby winner A Thread of Blue. That pair continued on the front through a mile in 1:38.11 and in deep stretch, Neptune's Storm finally collared the stubborn pacesetter and crossed the wire about a length in front. A Thread of Blue held off the late charge of Standard Deviation for second. 

"I was just a passenger today," Santana Jr. said. "He put himself in a position that he wanted. That horse is so classy and he knows how to win. 

Trained by Richard Baltas, Neptune's Storm completed 1 1/8-miles with blinkers off in 1:49.74 and paid $22.40 to win.

"Turning for home, I knew I had plenty of horse and I knew I just had to wait," Santana Jr. said. "This stretch is so long, so I knew I could wait until the right moment. He gave me a nice, strong kick and finish to get home."

Neptune's Storm is a 3-year-old gelded son of Stormy Atlantic owned by John Rochfort, Saul Gevertz and Lynn Gitomer. He was purchased for $130,000 at the OBS April 2-year-old sale. 

Neptune's Storm entered the Hill Prince off a pair of near-misses in graded stakes at Del Mar. He was beaten a neck when runner-up in the La Jolla Handicap (G3) and was again beaten a neck when third in the Del Mar Derby. He improved to 5-for-9 on the turf with three other on-the-board finishes.

Rochfort indicated the Breeders' Cup is not in the plans for Neptune's Storm.

"Not this year. Hopefully in the future," Rochfort said. "To be honest, we weren't going to run him here, but he was training so well. Richie said we'd be crazy to not come here and convinced us as owners to come here, and I'm glad he did."