Jumping Hill (foaled 1952 in California) was an American

Thoroughbred racehorse The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

bred by George Pope Jr. at his El Peco Ranch in Madera and successfully raced by him in England and the United States.

Background

Hillary (foaled 1952) was the sire of Jumping Hill. He stood for George Pope Jr. at his El Peco Ranch and who in 1965 was considered to be the number two stallion in the United States. Hillary was a son of Rex Ellsworth's very good stallion Khaled who sired a number of top level stakes winners including U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Swaps. Jumping Hill was out of the mare Frequently, a daughter of George Pope Jr.'s 1962 Kentucky Derby winner

Decidedly Decidedly (March 3, 1959 – November 12, 1984) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known for winning the 1962 Kentucky Derby. Background Decidedly was a gray horse bred in California by George Pope. His sire Determine from who ...

. Frequently's dam was Timepiece whose sire was Hall of Fame inductee

Eight Thirty Eight Thirty (March 27, 1936 – April 7, 1965) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He was owned by George D. Widener, Jr. and bred by his Erdenheim Farm. Widener is one of only five people ever named an Exemplar of Racing. Ei ...

Racing career

Owner George Pope Jr. sent Jumping Hill to race in England where he was trained by the highly competent

Noel Murless Sir Charles Francis Noel Murless (24 March 19109 May 1987) was an English racehorse trainer who one of the most successful of the twentieth century. Murless began his career as a trainer in 1935 at Hambleton Lodge in Yorkshire before moving to H ...

whose career saw him earn nine National training titles and win nineteen

British Classic Races The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their own ...

. Under his race conditioning, as a four-year-old Jumping Hill won the 1976

Royal Hunt Cup The Royal Hunt Cup is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to ...

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...

under jockey

Lester Piggott Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest f ...

. For 1977 Jumping Hill was brought back to race in the United States where he would be trained firstly by former jockey and future Hall of Famer

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

. His best results that year came at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

when he ran second in the 1977 Henry P. Russell and Morvich Handicaps. Ridden by Jerry Lambert, Jumping Hill won the 1978 San Francisco Mile Handicap. Sent to race on the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

, Jumping Hill's training was taken over by another future Hall of Fame inductee,

Horatio Luro Horatio A. Luro (February 27, 1901 - December 16, 1991) was a thoroughbred horse racing trainer in the United States. Luro was born in Argentina as one of nine children into the wealthy family of rancher and meat packer Adolfo Luro. The family h ...

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

fame. In the 1978

Stuyvesant Handicap The Stuyvesant Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the fall of the year at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Inaugurated in 1916, after its 58th running in 2008, the race was discontinued. A Grade III event for ...

at New York's

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

, Jumping Hill finished second to U.S. Triple Crown winner

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

. Competing in Florida, on December 30, 1978 Jumping Hill was carrying top weight when he set a new Calder track record in winning the 1 1/8 mile Grade 3 Saul Silberman Handicap. Again the high-weight, in his next start on February 3, 1979 the now seven-year-old set another track record for the same distance at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

when he won the Grade 2

Donn Handicap The Donn Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1959 through 2016 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. A race for horses age four and older, it was contested on turf from inception through 1964 at a distance ...

. On February 17, 1979 Jumping Hill ran second to

Sensitive Prince {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Sensitive Prince , image = , caption = , sire = Majestic Prince , grandsire = Raise A Native , dam = Sensitive Lady , damsire = Sensitivo , sex = Stallion (horse), Stallion , foaled = 1975 , country = ...

in the

Gulfstream Park Handicap The Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (formerly known as the Gulfstream Park Handicap) is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Gulfstream Park each year. The race is open to horses age four and up, willing to race one mile on the dirt. A Grade II even ...

, pushing his opponent to a new mile and one-quarter track record. On April 7, 1979, the same day that 1978 U. S. Triple Crown winning jockey

Steve Cauthen Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960) is a retired American jockey. In 1977 he became the first jockey to win over $6 million in a year working with agent Lenny Goodman, and in 1978 he became the youngest jockey to win the U. S. ...

made his riding debut in England a winning one at

Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at t ...

, Jumping Hill won the most prestigious race of his career. Racing at Florida's

Hialeah Park The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida, Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenu ...

, Jumping Hill went wire-to-wire for his win in the Grade 1

Widener Handicap The Widener Handicap at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida was a Grade III stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses 3-years-old and up. It was run over a distance of miles (10 furlongs) until 1993 when it was modified to miles. Initially ...

under Canadian jockey

Jeffrey Fell Jeffrey J. Fell (born June 20, 1956, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) is a retired jockey and a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee who was also a successful rider in the United States. On June 17, 1978, Jeffrey Fell rode Tiller (horse), Til ...

References

{{reflist 1972 racehorse births Thoroughbred racehorses Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters