Speaking Scout's rally pays off in Hollywood Derby

DEL MAR, Calif. - A disappointment in late October, Speaking Scout was the star 3-year-old at Del Mar on Saturday, closing from ninth to win his Grade 1 debut in the $402,500 Hollywood Derby.

Speaking Scout rallied between rivals in the final furlong to score an upset win in the track’s richest race for 3-year-olds.

“I didn’t know if he’d get through,” said Aron Wellman, president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which owns Speaking Scout.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Speaking Scout ($18.40) finished three-quarters of a length in front of 33-1 Spycatcher, who finished a nose in front of 9-5 favorite Wit.

Speaking Scout ran 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:49.34 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90, a career-best.

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Hernandez rode a patient race on Speaking Scout, one of three runners in a field of 10 trained by Graham Motion.

Speaking Scout was ninth on the backstretch, well behind 38-1 Evan Harlan, who is trained by Motion and set a slow pace of 24.51 for the opening quarter-mile and 49.86 for a half-mile.

Speaking Scout moved into sixth with a two-wide move as the field approached the stretch. Spycatcher, a maiden who was second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby in September, led briefly in the stretch.

Speaking Scout rallied between Cabo Spirit and St Anthony and later outside of Spycatcher before taking the lead.

“He put himself in the right spot,” Hernandez said. “I had to wait a little bit.

“When I moved my whip to the left and asked him to come through, he came through and was there for me.”

Handy Dandy, the winner of the restricted Let It Ride Stakes on Nov. 11, finished fourth, followed by Cabo Spirit, St Anthony, Evan Harlan, Script, Clutch Hitter and Celestial City.

Motion also trains Script.

Speaking Scout, by Mr Speaker, has won 4 of 14 starts and earned $500,666. The Hollywood Derby was Speaking Scout’s ninth start at as many different venues this year. Speaking Scout won the Hawthorne Derby at Hawthorne Racecourse in Illinois on Oct. 1.

Hernandez rode Speaking Scout for the second time in the Hollywood Derby. In the Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita on Oct. 29, Speaking Scout finished second by a half-length as the 2-1 favorite to Cabo Spirit, racing near the front in the final furlong before failing to take the lead.

“He got lazy,” Hernandez said of the loss. “This time, I was ready for him.”

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