BLAME’s Beacon Hill made a big return to the races on Sunday when the 4-year-old gelding shook off a 10 month layoff to win by five lengths at Pimlico for Runnymoore Racing.
Julian Pimentel was aboard to pilot Beacon Hill over the 1 1/16 miles on the turf and kept his mount wide the first trip down the stretch as he raced up to the second position. The gelding pulled up to the leader’s outside to crank up the pressure and the race was on.
Beacon Hill looked like a seasoned professional as he dug in to put the longtime leader away only a sixteenth after they turned into the stretch for the final run. Pimentel barely moved on his mount in the final furlong as Beacon Hill proved to be much the best as they raced away from the field.
It was the second win for the BLAME gelding after breaking his maiden last summer by 5 ¾ lengths.
Bred by Newtown Anner Stud, Beacon Hill was a $500,000 yearling purchase by his previous owners. The gelding is a full brother to stakes winner Sweet Victory, and a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Out for a Spin and stakes winner Ferdinanda. Their stakes-placed dam My Mammy is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Bandini and Grade 3 winner Discourse, who is the dam of Group 3 winner Blown By Wind and two other stakes horses.
My Mammy and Discourse aren’t the only two producers in the family, their half-sister Najoum is the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Lord North.
Also in Beacon Hill’s family are Grade 1 winners Decorated Invader and Fire At Will and successful sire Stormy Atlantic.
The sire of 33 stakes winners, 16.5% of BLAME’s runners are stakes performers with 75% of his runners visiting the winner’s circle.