Hidden Scroll declares himself a 3-year-old to watch

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The local 3-year-old division added another major player over the weekend after the sensational debut by Hidden Scroll, who splashed to a 14-length maiden victory Saturday while posting a 104 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance.

“I can’t recall any other 3-year-old posting a number that high going a mile or further in their first start,” said Dick Jerardi, a member of the Beyer Speed Figure team. “But to put it in perspective, it’s the same number Justify received winning his first start, going seven furlongs, last year.”

Trainer Bill Mott said it might be too early to crown Hidden Scroll the next Kentucky Derby winner, especially considering that his horse, like Justify, did not start as a 2-year-old.

“It took about 100 years or so for someone to finally break that curse, so it’s a little premature to say [Hidden Scroll] is going to do it, too,” Mott cautioned Monday.

Mott did report that Hidden Scroll came out of the one-mile race in good order and that all the appropriate races, including the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth here March 2, are on the table for his next start.

“We’ll let him tell us where to go next,” Mott said. “He had always impressed us in the morning, but naturally you never expect one to win first time out the way he did. The track was pretty packed down at the time, and while he ran faster than the stakes race later in the card, the track might not have been quite so hard by then. The best thing about this horse, looking down the road, is that he’s got a great disposition, and that means everything. But it still remains to be seen if rushing him along to make the Derby is the right thing to do. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

◗ Leading jockey Luis Saez and Tyler Gaffalione shared honors Sunday by each registering a hat trick over the sloppy track while combining to win half the races on the 12-race card. Saez continues on his torrid, record pace as he attempts to break the win mark he established defending his championship meet riding title a year ago. Two of Gafflione’s three winners, Tell Me a Story and Duke of Miami, were trained by Jorge Delgado, who is on a pretty good roll of his own having sent out six winners and three second-place finishers from his last 10 starters.