Better Talk Now Gets Silenced in Turf Cup

Hollywood Park hasn’t been kind to grass horses who ran in the Breeders’ Cup.

Those who competed in last weekend’s Turf Festival didn’t fare well and Breeders’ Cup Turf upsetter Better Talk Now joined the club in Saturday’s $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup.

Better Talk Now was made the 11-10 favorite in the Grade I thanks to his surprise against Kitten’s Joy and others Oct. 30 at Lone Star Park. He had the lead briefly in the stretch Saturday but finished sixth in a race won by 10-1 outsider Pellegrino.

Rallying along the rail in the stretch under jockey Gary Stevens, Pellegrino outfinished Megahertz, one of two females in the field, to win for the fourth time in 15 starts.

Pellegrino, a 5-year-old Brazilian-bred who had never before won a Grade I, ran the 1 1/2 miles in 2:29.73. He had won twice previously on the Hollywood Park grass, but both of the victories had come against lesser competition.

“Don did a great job with this horse,” Stevens said of trainer Don Burke II. “When I warmed him up today, he was just a dream. I got stopped a couple of times during the race. I just had to bide my time, but it opened up beautifully in the lane and he got the job done.”

Megahertz, who was looking for her third local win for trainer Bobby Frankel, finished a head in front of 10-1 shot and stablemate License To Run. Moscow Burning, the other female, ran fourth.

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Texcess, the 6-5 favorite, won for the third time in four starts, winning the $1-million Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs in Vinton, La. Owned by Omar Aldabbagh and trainer Paul Aguirre, the 2-year-old son of In Excess was ridden by Victor Espinoza and ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:48.57. Purchased for $85,000 at the Barretts Sale in May, the California-bred earned $600,000 on Saturday and has now banked $725,427.

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John Velazquez, the country’s leading jockey in terms of purse earnings, won two of the four stakes offered at Calder, and both victories came for trainer Todd Pletcher. He won the $100,000 My Charmer with Something Ventured and the $100,000 Tropical Turf Handicap with Host. Other winners were Leona’s Knight in the $100,000 Three Ring and Better Than Bonds in the $100,000 What A Pleasure.