Howe Great wins Palm Beach

Howe Great, a Grade 3 winner who was originally entered in a Wednesday stakes at Indiana Downs, will instead head to Belmont Park for Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Hill Prince, a one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds.

Victorious in a pair of stakes on turf at Gulfstream Park this winter, including the Grade 3 Palm Beach in March, Howe Great was fifth in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Blue Grass in April, his first start on a synthetic surface. He returned to turf for his most recent start, finishing third in the Grade 2 American Turf on May 4 at Churchill Downs after breaking outwardly.

“He’s been unlucky with post positions in his last two starts,” said H. Graham Motion, who trains Howe Great for Team Valor International. “He’s drawn outside posts, and last time he broke outward. Horses tend to that when they’re far outside, and I think it can definitely affect them. I don’t think his Blue Grass was all that bad, but he’s probably better on turf.”

Motion entered Howe Great in Wednesday’s Oliver Stakes at Indiana Downs before scratching the colt, noting that he didn’t want the son of Hat Trick to face American Turf winner Silver Max again and spot weight to most of his opponents.

Alan Garcia will ride Howe Great, the 3-1 morning-line favorite, from post position 9 in the field of 11.

Also coming out of the American Turf is GDS Racing Stable’s Star Channel, who was unplaced after losing his rider on the far turn. The race snapped his three-race win streak that included a score in a Florida-bred stakes on April 7 at Tampa Bay Downs.