Hidden Scroll back in training following gate scratch

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Hidden Scroll, a late scratch from a Jan. 17 allowance at Gulfstream Park after becoming fractious in the starting gate, has resumed training for Bill Mott at Payson Park and could make his delayed return within the next few weeks, said Garrett O’Rourke, general manager for the colt’s owner-breeder, Juddmonte Farms.

“I was just down in Florida over the weekend to see him and some other horses,” O’Rourke said Monday from Kentucky. “He’s all healed up from some scrapes and bruises he got from that incident and should be back on the work tab soon. He looks tremendously well, absolutely.”

Unraced since last spring, Hidden Scroll has been closely watched by fans and insiders ever since earning a 104 Beyer Speed Figure in his career debut on the Pegasus World Cup undercard last January at Gulfstream. The 4-year-old Hard Spun colt was an odds-on favorite for the Jan. 17 race, a first-level allowance at six furlongs, before throwing an untimely fit.

“He got spooked, which was unfortunate,” O’Rourke said. “He’s usually a lovely tempered horse, but sometimes that old Toussaud personality comes out in her offspring,” referring to the late blue hen dam who foaled Empire Maker, the broodmare sire of Hidden Scroll. “I imagine we’ll be looking for the same kind of comeback spot before long.”

After his debut going a mile, Hidden Scroll was the beaten favorite in three subsequent races – the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby at Gulfstream, and a seven-furlong allowance on the May 4 Kentucky Derby card.