Juan Hernandez lowered his face to Test Score’s neck and whispered something only a jockey and his horse could understand. The colt flicked an ear, calm as the Pacific breeze rolling across Del Mar’s turf. Trainer Graham Motion watched with steady satisfaction — no tension, no urgency, only belief — as the pair prepared for Saturday’s Hollywood Derby, the moment that brought them west once more.
Test Score arrives battle-hardened and beautifully consistent. After claiming the Grade II Twilight Derby at Santa Anita on October 25, the Lookin At Lucky colt now stands ready for another test at a mile and one-eighth. Earlier in the year, he closed ground fiercely to finish third by a half-length in the Saratoga Derby Invitational, and he already owns Grade I credentials thanks to his Belmont Derby triumph. Eleven races have carried him past the million-dollar mark in earnings, and Motion’s confidence lies not in numbers, but in how willingly the colt gives every time the gates open.
Hollywood Derby shapes into a balanced, tactical contest
Tempus Volat, winner of Del Mar’s Let It Ride Stakes on October 30, enters as a colt on the ascent. Never out of the top three in his last four runs, he seeks his first graded success with Mirco Demuro staying aboard. His maiden win came smoothly after switching yards earlier this year, and his subsequent third to Maaz shows he belongs among deeper company.
Friendly Confines, runner-up in the Let It Ride Stakes, carries 5-2-2-0 into his first try at a mile and one-eighth. Hector I. Berrios takes over riding duties for trainer Richard Baltas and partners John Ford Racing, Debby Baltas, and Vivian Li. He has never finished worse than second, nor stopped improving — Saturday will ask whether that rise continues.
Field of nine
Maaz – Ricardo Gonzalez (122)
Friendly Confines – Hector I. Berrios (122)
Test Score – Juan Hernandez (122)
Salamis – Umberto Rispoli (122)
Kokosan – Armando Ayuso (122)
Nobel Confessor – John Velazquez (122)
Copp – Kazushi Kimura (122)
Tempus Volat – Mirco Demuro (122)
Tom’s Magic – Antonio Fresu (122)
First post is 11:30 a.m., with gates opening an hour earlier. The Hollywood Derby sits ninth on the card, expected around 3:30 p.m., where the focus will fall on a seasoned traveller, rising challengers, and a stretch of fast green that never forgives hesitation. Del Mar offers the stage — Test Score and company must write the race.
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