Truly Quality cruises to repeat win in Hollywood Turf Cup
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DEL MAR, Calif. - A heady ride by Mirco Demuro proved to be the key to Truly Quality scoring a repeat victory in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup Friday at Del Mar.
On the backstretch of Gold Cup, Truly Quality quickly went from sixth to third at Demuro's urging. Racing wide, Truly Quality remained in a stalking position, even though he briefly dropped back to fifth with more than three furlongs remaining. Approaching the turn, Demuro urged Truly Quality again, a tactic that turned out to be a winning move.
Truly Quality made a sustained rally that led to a win by 1 3/4 lengths.
“He’s a special horse,” Demuro said. “You don’t want to interrupt his rhythm. I was able to make my move when I wanted to.”
Sent off favored, Truly Quality ($5.80) ran 1 1/2 miles on turf in 2:29.67 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 93.
With the wide move, Truly Quality avoided traffic issues that led to a nine-minute inquiry, but no change to the order of finish. The stewards focused on an incident at the three-eighths pole when Grogu was checked while racing on the inside, adjacent to eventual runner-up Flashiest.
The stewards ruled in a majority decision that the incident did not merit a disqualification.
Flashiest was also checked at the three-eighths pole by jockey Armando Ayuso after racing in close quarters with Nineeleventurbo.
Flashiest (40-1) closed from seventh in the final quarter-mile to finish a head in front of 6-1 Nineeleventurbo. Reiquest finished fourth, followed by Rastaman Vibe, Grogu, Mondego, Balnikhov, and Balladeer.
Balladeer set a moderate pace of 24.56 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.86 for a half-mile. He led to the final turn before fading.
Truly Quality became the first two-time winner of the $202,000 Hollywood Turf Cup since Lazy Lode in 1998 and 1999, when the race was run at Hollywood Park.
The Turf Cup has been run at Del Mar since 2014, a year after Hollywood Park’s closure.
A 5-year-old gelding by Quality Road, Truly Quality won for the sixth time in his 16th start in the Hollywood Turf Cup, his fourth stakes win. In 2024, the Hollywood Turf Cup was the last of a three-race winning streak for Truly Quality that included the Colonial Cup at Colonial Downs and the Grade 3 Singspiel Stakes at Woodbine.
Earlier this year, Truly Quality was sixth of eight in the Grade 3 San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita in February before being given a lengthy rest. He finished fourth by a half-length behind Gold Phoenix in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 30 in his return.
Truly Quality races for George Strawbridge Jr.’s Augustin Stable and trainer Jonathan Thomas. The Hollywood Turf Cup was their second repeat stakes win in the last week. On Nov. 23, their 5-year-old Mrs. Astor won the Grade 3 Red Carpet Stakes at Del Mar for the second consecutive year.
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