Truly Quality © Benoit Photo
The winner of last year’s Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup Truly Quality is looking for a repeat this Friday at Del Mar. A competitive field of nine are set to go a mile and a half on the Jimmy Durante Turf. The Hollywood Turf Cup will kick off the FanDuel Racing Turf Festival on closing weekend.
Truly Quality reemerged in February after his Hollywood Turf Cup win in the Grade III San Marcos stakes at Santa Anita, he finished sixth while off as the even money favorite. After a six-month layoff, the Jonathan Thomas trainee returned to Del Mar in the Grade II Del Mar Handicap, where he finished fourth just beaten a half-length. Truly Quality earned his first stakes win going the marathon distance of one and a half miles in the Colonial Cup at Colonial Downs in September of 2024.
A homebred for George Strawbridge’s Augustin Stables, Truly Quality is 15-5-4-3 with $517,495 in earnings. He will have a new rider aboard for the task in red-hot Mirco Demuro.
Separated by a half a length in last year’s rendition of the Hollywood Turf Cup, runner up Balnikhov returns and will try to turn the tables on Truly Quality. The pair met again in the Del Mar Handicap where Balnikhov finished second to last. Umberto Rispoli rides back after piloting him to a two and a quarter length win in a $100,000 Optional Claiming Allowance here on November 2 going a mile and three eighths. Balnikhov looks to improve on his record of 36-8-6-6 and $1,168,893 in earnings. Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and Old Bones Racing Stables, the 6-year-old Irish-bred Adaay gelding is trained by Phil D’Amato.
Supplemented into the party is Flashiest. He was second to Balnikhov in the Optional Claiming Allowance race on November 2 and is looking for his first graded stakes victory. Trained by Leonard Powell for Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Nicolas G. Drion and Mathilde Powell, Flashiest is 34-4-5-3 with $342,866 in earnings. He will be ridden by Armando Auyso.
Field of nine in post position order: Balladeer, Edwin Maldonado 122; Flashiest, Armando Ayuso 122; Rastaman Vibe, Juan Hernandez 122; Nineeleventurbo, Antonio Fresu 122; Grogu, Diego Herrera 122; Reiquist, Hector I. Berrios 122; Truly Quality, Mirco Demuro 124; Balnikhov, Umberto Rispoli 122; Mondego, Kazushi Kimura 122.
First post time for a nine-race card is 12:30 PM. The Hollywood Turf Cup goes as the seventh race with an approximate post time of 3:30 PM.