Twilight Derby perfect distance for shipper Test Score
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ARCADIA, Calif. – Test Score shipped from Maryland to California looking for a shorter trip. As an added bonus, the Grade 1 winner will face the smallest field of his career on Saturday at Santa Anita.
Only five are entered in the Grade 2, $200,000 Twilight Derby, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds in which Test Score is the class of the field and odds-on program favorite. Although the race has minimal wagering appeal, it is more attractive than the first stakes race on Saturday.
Only four horses are entered in the $85,000 Tokyo City Cup Stakes, a dirt race shortened this year from 1 1/2 miles to one mile. The 3-year-olds Gaming and Privman, and 4-year-old Pony Express are the principals in the Tokyo City, race 2.
In the Twilight Derby, race 5, quality trumps quantity. Test Score won the Grade 1 Belmont Derby, Namaron finished a solid third in his U.S. debut in a $1.8 million race at Kentucky Downs, Scipio is a stakes-winning comebacker. Lightly raced Septembersixtyfour could steal it at a price, and Maaz scored a sharp win in an entry-level allowance.
Graham Motion trains Test Score, whose Belmont Derby win at 1 1/8 miles was his limit. He subsequently finished third in the Grade 1 Saratoga Derby at 1 3/16 miles and fourth in the Grade 3 Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs going 1 5/16 miles.
“That distance is a bit of a stretch,” Motion acknowledged. “I was a little worried after the race at Saratoga where he was [third], and felt we were stretching him a bit [at Kentucky Downs]. That’s kind of why we fastened on this mile and an eighth race [the Twilight Derby].”
Motion is based in Maryland, his shippers to California are 3 for 6 this year in graded stakes. Test Score will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, who is subbing for Manny Franco, his regular rider. Franco rides Saturday at Aqueduct and has mounts in seven stakes for New York-breds.
Franco’s input affects Test Score, who is adding blinkers. “That’s something Manny has wanted to do for a while,” Motion said. “He thinks he needs a little more focus.”
Test Score, a Lookin At Lucky colt owned and bred by Amerman Racing, has won three races and $1,328,525 from 10 starts. Test Score arrived in California on Oct. 18.
Namaron was purchased for $271,259 this spring at a London auction for California-based Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler. The gelding finished third in his U.S. debut Sept. 6 at Kentucky Downs.
“It was a really good race for him,” Sadler said. “It was a 14-horse field and he had the one [post]. He had to stand there a long time, and he broke a step slow, and looked a little lost.”
It was the first start in more than three months for Namaron. Since then, Sadler said Namaron “looks good, and trained good.”
Hector Berrios rides Namaron. Berrios and Sadler have teamed to win at a 33 percent rate (29 for 88) since March.
Scipio, runner-up to Test Score in the Grade 3 Transylvania this spring at Keeneland, is making his first start in nearly five months. Trainer Richard Baltas said he is ready. “Oh yeah, he’s fit,” Baltas said. “He’s had a bunch of five-eighths [works], I think he’s good again.”
Baltas backed off Scipio after he finished fourth in a spring stakes race at Churchill Downs. The freshening helped. “Since I’ve had him [at Santa Anita] on the synthetic track, he’s been working really well,” Baltas said.
Antonio Fresu rides Scipio.
Septembersixtyfour, trainer by Mike Puype, will try to steal the Twilight Derby, which is not impossible if he rations his speed more efficiently than in his last start, an entry-level allowance mile. Stretching out from a five-furlong maiden win and breaking from the outside post, Septembersixtyfour opened up by more than seven lengths before tiring to fifth. He lost by less than three lengths.
“It wasn’t like he was running off, he had a nice comfortable lead, but he never slowed down,” Puype said. “The horse still galloped out like distance won’t be a problem.”
With a route under his belt, Septembersixtyfour and jockey Kazushi Kimura could slow down the pace enough to possibly spring a front-running upset. He is listed 6-1.
In the Tokyo City Cup, Bob Baffert-trained Grade 1 winner Gaming and Grade 1-placed Privman are top contenders. Gaming finished 14 lengths behind Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile pre-entrant Citizen Bull last out. Privman finished a respectable third to BC Classic pre-entrant Nevada Beach and BC Dirt Mile pre-entrant Full Serrano last out.
Pony Express won an entry-level allowance with a 101 Beyer Speed Figure in his most recent start June 15.
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