Bred in Ontario by Eugene Melnyk, royally-bred Hillaby was a 3-year-old and a 2-time winner at Woodbine when she was sold at Melnyk’s dispersal of racing stock at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Sale. As a daughter of the 2011 Leading Sire Distorted Humor and Canadian Horse of the Year Sealy Hill, who was herself a daughter of Horse of the Year Point Given, Hillaby was well worth the $500,000 Stonestreet paid for her at the time.

Hillaby had broken her maiden in May by 5 ¾ lengths, then won an allowance by 3 ¼ lengths before the sale. After Stonestreet bought her, and left her in the hands of Mark Casse, she won another allowance by 4 ¾ lengths at Woodbine after being bumped at the start, then won the 7 furlong G2 Bessarabian Stakes to earn the title of Champion Sprint Female in Canada in 2014. At 5, Hillaby was a close second in the Sweet Briar Too Stakes, then fifth in the G3 Seaway Stakes before retiring to Stonestreet with 4 wins from 9 starts and $282,265.

Hillaby’s dam, Sealy Hill, was also bred by Melnyk, and was a stakes winner at 2; and Horse of the Year, Champion Three-Year-Old Filly and Champion Turf Female at 3 in Canada. Hillaby is her first foal. Her second is the winner Paradise Alley (2011 f. by Flower Alley), and her third is the filly Belle Hill (2012 f. by Sky Mesa), undefeated in 4 stakes at 3. Sealy Hill sold for $590,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton February sale carrying a full sister to Hillaby, and was resold at the Regis Farm Dispersal at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale for $750,000 in foal to Medaglia d’Oro. The foal she was carrying, later named Cambier Parc, won the G3 Wonder Again Stakes and the G3 Herecomesthebride Stakes in 2019. Cambier Parc was also third in the G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational.