Del Mar: Deep 3-year-old group lines up for Hollywood Derby

There are only a few races in America that can boast the same age as the Del Mar racetrack. One of them is set to run this Saturday at the seaside oval. The Grade 1 Hollywood Derby has been around for a long time, 85 years in fact. It was run at Hollywood Park for most of those years. The last eleven runnings have come at Del Mar.

Top 3-year-olds clash in the mile and a eighth contest on the grass, part of Del Mar's fall turf festival. And they’re coming from all around the country.

Click here for Del Mar entries and results.

Chad Brown sent Salamis, a son of Speightstown, owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms. He won the $150,000 Gio Ponte in September before finishing fifth in the Bryan Station (G3) at Keeneland last out. 

“He had a terrible post and in hindsight I should have scratched the horse and not shipped him once he drew that post,” Brown said. “I took a shot. It was a big purse and I liked how he fit in the race, by the numbers. But when you’re at Keeneland and you draw the far outside in a race like that you’re at a huge disadvantage. He was wide throughout and it was a terrible set up for him.”

Another shipper worth noting is Tom’s Magic from the Michael Stidham barn. He went up to Canada this summer and finished second to Mansetti in the King's Plate at Woodbine before capturing the third jewel of the Canada Triple Crown, the Breeders' Stakes in September. Before heading north, the son of Justify had won stakes races at Monmouth Park and Fair Grounds. 

Test Score is sort of an invader though he won his last race at Santa Anita. Earlier this year the son of Lookin At Lucky won the Transylvania (G3) at Keeneland in April and the Belmont Derby (G1) at Saratoga in July. Trainer Graham Motion brought him out west and he won the Twilight Derby (G2) last month. Motion left him on the left coast for a shot at a Grade 1.

“I think he ran a huge race that day,” Alice Clapham, Motion’s assistant trainer, said of the Twilight Derby. “Juan (Hernandez) got on with him great and he’s done well since then.”

The owners and breeders, Amerman Racing, were the major reason for bringing Test Score out west.

“The Amermans are here so they can see him run,” Clapham said. “They’re based in L.A. so it’s easier for them to watch him.”

Trainer Michael McCarthy has two horses in the Hollywood Derby. Maaz finished second to Test Score in the Twilight Derby, skimming the rail and keeping the winner honest to the wire. 

“He’s a tough kind of a horse,” McCarthy said. “Kind of his own worst enemy at times. If he ever learns to settle and relax there’s plenty of upside for him.”

McCarthy’s other colt in the race is Copp. The son of Blame has run all seven of his lifetime starts in Kentucky.

Tempus Volat, winner of the $100,000 Let It Ride Stakes on opening day of the Bing Crosby season, is taking a step up in the Hollywood Derby.

“It’s one of the last chances for these horses to not face older and stay in their own age group,” trainer Leonard Powell said. “With these horses you either go in the two ranks against olders or you stay in your own age group and you climb the ladder. It is a step up but hopefully he’s improved and he can be competitive.”

Friendly Confines finished second to Tempus Volat in the Let It Ride and will follow his rival into the Hollywood Derby. The son of Twirling Candy finished second in the $100,000 Pasadena at Santa Anita in March. 

The Hollywood Derby is race 9 on the 11-race card Saturday. Probable post is 6:30 p.m. EST.