Restoring Hope (foaled May 5, 2015) is an American
Thoroughbred
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 ...
racehorse who competed in the
2018 Belmont Stakes
The 2018 Belmont Stakes was the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes and the 107th time the event took place at Belmont Park. The race, known as the "test of the champion", is the final leg in the American Triple Crown. It is a Grade I stakes ...
. He first garnered attention when he won a race at Santa Anita.
Restoring Hope became a subject of debate after competitors in the 2018 Belmont Stakes accused him of blocking other horses in order to help his stablemate,
Justify, who went on to win the
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
Sports Horse racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States)
** Triple Crown Trophy
** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Tri ...
. Restoring Hope was trained by Bob Baffert, who also trained Justify.
Mike Repole
Mike Repole (born January 21, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, businessman, and owner of Repole Stables, best known for co-founding Glaceau (maker of Vitaminwater), which sold to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion, and BODYARMOR SuperDrink, a sport ...
, who owned two other horses in the race, said "We watched Restoring Hope rush up like he was a quarter horse, make a quick right-hand turn, then turn left, pinned Bravazo on the rail. He looked like a bodyguard making sure nobody got close to Justify."
After the Belmont Stakes, Restoring Hope did not race for half a year, until resurfacing for new trainer
John Servis
John C. Servis (born October 25, 1958 in Charles Town, West Virginia) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer who was relatively unknown until May 2004 when his horse Smarty Jones won the Kentucky Derby. The colt then went on to win the Pre ...
. After Servis' indictment, he was moved to
W. Bret Calhoun's barn, for whom he made two starts after ten months away from the track. After another ten months without any races, he then raced once for
Wayne M. Catalano, was moved to
Kelly J. Breen's barn and finally to Ron Moquett. A few starts later, he was claimed for $10,000 by trainer John Haran. As of June 2023, he has been racing for a $5,000 tag at Hawthorne.
References
Racehorses trained in the United States
2015 racehorse births
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