Mr Speaker Should Have Say in Hill Prince

Phipps Stable's Grade I winner Mr Speaker (Pulpit) returns to the turf as he heads an internationally flavored field of 10 in today's repositioned and reconfigured GIII Hill Prince S. This race has been run at a mile and in June since 2006. A 23-1 upsetter of the 10-panel GI Belmont Derby here July 5, Mr Speaker returns to his preferred surface off a fifth-place run in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga Aug. 23. “We've always known he is a grass horse, but we wanted to take a shot at the Travers,” explained Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. “He had trained good on the dirt, but it didn't work out. He'll definitely like being back on the big track [at Belmont] and has been training good on the turf since the Travers.” Also representing the home team is Gary Barber and WinStar Farm's Tourist (Tiznow), who capped a three-race win streak in Saratoga's July 18 Sir Cat S., beating Ring Weekend (Tapit) in the process. Tourist comes off a solid second when attempting 1 1/4 miles in Arlington's GI Secretariat S., won by Belmont Derby runner-up Adelaide (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Sheldon (Purim) was third in that heat, while two also-rans came back to win, including GIII Kent S. hero Divine Oath (Broken Vow). St Elias Stable and West Point Thoroughbreds's Ring Weekend (Tapit) upended the GII Tampa Bay Derby in March, and has reinvented himself as a grass horse after three subsequent disappointing outings. He took the Spa's GIII Saranac S. from Smooth Daddy (Scat Daddy) going this trip Sept. 1. A trio of European invaders add to the intrigue. Mrs. Susan Roy's Sloane Avenue (Candy Ride {Arg}), a half to American graded stakes performers Carve (First Samurai) and Apropos (First Samurai), aired by nine lengths going a mile on the Lingfield Polytrack Feb. 8–the same day both Tourist and Ring Weekend broke their maidens. He was a dull fifth of five in Newmarket's 10-panel Fairway S. May 17, but bounced back after a slow beginning to take a synthetic Kempton handicap impressively Aug. 27. Trainer Jeremy Noseda took the GI Jamaica H. with Western Aristocrat (Mr. Greeley) when it occupied this spot on the calendar in 2011. Christophe Clement saddles Jump Sucker Stable's Blacktype (Fr) (Dunkerque {Fr}), who most recently finished second in a Longchamp handicap June 3 for J.P. Gauvin. The dark bay appears to be working well over the Belmont grass, and will look to provide Clement with a second graded stakes win this meet with a foreign import following impressive GIII Noble Damsel S. heroine Annecdote (GB) (Lucky Story). Christophe Ferland ships in Meridian Racing Club'sCabral (Henrythenavigator), who has been off the board just once in his career and took a 7 1/2-furlong Deauville synthetic event Aug. 27.