Truly Quality © Benoit Photo
Favored Truly Quality was much the best in defending his title in the Grade II $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup. Biding his time with a comfortable pace set by Balladeer with Edwin Maldonado, Truly Quality and Mirco Demuro sat in seventh about five lengths off the lead and started to move up while in the clear the second time up the backstretch with a half-mile left to run. Requist, who was second throughout, started to close the lead on Balladeer to a half-length with Truly Quality racing just to their outside. Around the turn for home he gained the lead by a head over Reiquist and kicked clear to win by one and three-quarters lengths.
“He’s a one pace horse, he stays, but if you go too soon, he stops when you get to the front,.” recalled Mirco Demuro. “If you go too late, he doesn’t make it. With the position I had and the pace we went (thanks to Balladeer) I was able to make my move whenever. He is a clever horse, he knows what to do. When he came down the stretch he wanted to win the race.”
A homebred for George Strawbridge's Augustin Stables, trained by Johnathan Thomas, Truly Quality, a five-year-old gelding by Quality Road, has improved his record to 16-6-4-3 with $630,495 in earnings.
“He was very impressive today,” said Jonathan Thomas. “I thought Mirco (Demuro) did a very good job of getting after him early. He noticed the slow pace and was able to get him in a good spot down the backside. When he got there, I thought with his stamina that he’d really hang there. It was tough out on that post (#7) he gave up some good ground around that first turn, but he got a really good ride.”
Supplemented into the Hollywood Turf Cup, Leonard Powell’s Flashiest was in between horses up the backstretch, had to steady after getting bumped by Nineeleventurbo who was to his outside, swung out three wide turning for home to hold on to second by a head over Nineeleventurbo and Antonio Fresu. It was another head back to Requist in fourth.
Truly Quality returned $5.80, $4.60 and $3.00, Ridden by Armando Ayuso, Flashiest paid $24.00 and $9.20. Nineleventurbo returned $3.60 to show.
Fractions on the race were 24.56, 48.86, 1:14.24, 1:40.05, 2:05.07, for a final time of 2:29.67
The FanDuel Racing Turf Festival continues Saturday with an early first post time of 11:30 AM set for an 11-race card.
MIRCO DEMURO (Truly Quality, Winner) – “Unbelievable horse, I ride him in the mornings and he knows what he is doing. He is the kind of horse that sometimes puts you in a difficult position because he’s lazy in the beginning, but as you go down the stretch he goes. He wanted to go. You don’t want to interrupt his rhythm. He’s a one pace horse, he stays but if you go too soon, he stops when you get to the front. If you go too late, he doesn’t make it. With the position I had and the pace we went (thanks to Balladeer) I was able to make my move whenever. He is a clever horse, he knows what to do. When he came down the stretch he wanted to win the race.”
JONATHAN THOMAS (Truly Quality, Winner) – “He was very impressive today. I thought Mirco (Demuro) did a very good job of getting after him early. He noticed the slow pace and was able to get him in a good spot down the backside. When he got there, I thought with his stamina that he’d really hang there. It was tough out on that post (#7) he gave up some good ground around that first turn, but he got a really good ride.”