Jumping Hill

Jumping Hill (foaled 1952 in California) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse 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.^[2]

Jumping Hill was out of the mare Frequently, a daughter of George Pope Jr.'s 1962 Kentucky Derby winner Decidedly. Frequently's dam was Timepiece whose sire was Hall of Fame inductee Eight Thirty.^[1][3]

Racing career

Owner George Pope Jr. sent Jumping Hill to race in England where he was trained by the highly competent Noel Murless whose career saw him earn nine National training titles and win nineteen British Classic Races. Under his race conditioning, as a four-year-old Jumping Hill won the 1976 Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot Racecourse under jockey Lester Piggott.

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. His best results that year came at Santa Anita Park 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, Jumping Hill's training was taken over by another future Hall of Fame inductee, Horatio Luro of Northern Dancer fame. In the 1978 Stuyvesant Handicap at New York's Aqueduct Racetrack, Jumping Hill finished second to U.S. Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.^[4]

Competing in Florida, on December 30, 1978 Jumping Hill was carrying top weight when he set a new