My Best Brother, Old Time Hockey meet again in Twilight
Derby
My Best Brother and Old Time Hockey, who landed the major three-year-old
grass stakes at Del Mar over the summer, will renew rivalry Friday in the Grade
2, $150,000
Twilight Derby at Santa Anita. Formerly known as the Oak Tree Derby, the
grassy 1 1/8-mile Twilight Derby is the last of 10 races on the first of two
Breeders’ Cup programs.
My Best Brother and Old Time Hockey met three times at Del Mar, with My Best
Brother coming away with two wins. A wire-to-wire winner of the second Oceanside
division on opening day, My Best Brother was caught at the wire by Old Time
Hockey in the Grade 2 La Jolla Handicap in their next meeting. However, My Best
Brother earned revenge in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby with another gate-to-wire
score.
Old Time Hockey struggled to make either the Oceanside or Del Mar Derby
competitive. Third by two lengths in the former, the gelded son of Smarty Jones
endured trouble in the Derby, losing ground around the final turn when forced to
steady. He ultimately made up more than four lengths in the final furlong,
advancing from eighth to fifth at the finish, but by then My Best Brother was
too far ahead of him.
Several other Del Mar Derby participants are in the Twilight Derby, including
fourth-place finisher Power Foot. All Squared Away and Smart Ellis crossed the
wire in seventh and eighth, respectively, but were beaten less than three
lengths in a tightly-bunched field.
The 2-1 morning-line favorite in the Twilight Derby is the Dermot
Weld-trained Irish invader Speaking of Which, who dominated the Group 3
Gallinule by nine lengths at The Curragh in May. Third as the odds-on favorite
in the Group 3 Kilternan at Leopardstown most recently, Speaking of Which will
add Lasix for his U.S. debut Friday.
English invader Grandeur invades from England where he was Group 3-placed and
winner of a lucrative handicap winner during the Glorious Goodwood meeting. The
Jeremy Noseda charge is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line.
Trying turf for the first time is Santa Anita main track allowance winner
Regulus, a Darley homebred by Distorted Humor who was produced by the multiple
Grade 1-winning mare Stellar Jayne.
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