Twilight Derby (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Three Year Olds
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
October 25, 2025
Saturday’s action at SA will feature the 20th running of the Twilight Derby, a Grade 2 on the turf for three-year-olds at nine furlongs. There will be eleven horses heading to the starting gate hoping to capture the winner’s portion of the $200.000 purse. Last year, the Twilight Derby was won by Rastaban, for Riggins Racing. That one is still active but no longer running at the stake level. Here’s a look at those in action for this year’s race;
1- Brave Storm (Riggins Racing, ridden by A Castellanos)- Looking to bring his trainer another Twilight Derby trophy, and Brave Storm has been doing a lot of winning as of late. Four of his last five have resulted in a victory, but before you get too excited, three of them were at BTP or FP. Riggins Racing picked him up in private sales for $55.000 in July and ran him for the first time in the $30.000 Puss N Boots Cup at FE, and he would win that as well. It was also the first time he had run long, so we will see here if Riggins has uncovered a major steal.
2- Smokin Access (Red Fox Farms, ridden by F T Alvarado)- This one has been racing at the stake level in all but two races, and he typically runs well. His lone stake win came back in February at the $150.000 Kittens Joy from GP, but even though he has not racked up the stake victories, his competitive showings were on display last time out with a third-place effort in the $500.000 Grade 3 Old Dominion Derby at CNL.
3- Darrow (Mb Stables, ridden by J J Hernandez)- He’s ended up in a lot of races that I have been covering lately, and has seen three wins in nine starts during his three-year-old season. That follows an appearance in the BC Juvenile Turf last year. After moving back to the turf in May, he’s run well and got a win in the Grade 3 Manila at SAR. This is a good spot for him to bounce back in after a couple of less exciting performances.
4- Pinewood Derby (Blazin D, ridden by A Fresu)- Pinewood Derby is showing plenty of promise early in his career, winning three of his seven starts, and hitting the board on six occasions. His last two races have been wins, coming in the $75.000 Crowd Pleaser, for PA-Breds, at PEN, and then the Grade 3 Old Dominion at CNL. Looks to remain hot and is one that we’ll want to keep an eye on going forward.
5- Negril (Winning Link Stables, ridden by J Valdivia Jr)- Looking to show what he can do at this level, as he makes his stake debut here in his fifth start. He has two wins so far, but not necessarily against the strongest of competition. Against better in a PRX allowance, he was third last month. Still may be growing, so there is room for him to improve and build on that effort.
6- Losing Hazard (Asgar, ridden by E Maldonado)- Another one that I have been seeing a lot of lately, but I have not been talking about him doing much winning. After the Grade 3 Southwest, Losing Hazard has not even hit the board. You hate to say he is living up to his name, and hopefully he can put an end to that. Those results do include the PRK and BEL, as well as the Dandy and even the $3,500.000 Nashville Derby, so this is a step or two back that may be very beneficial.
7- Hon Blue (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A Ayuso)- He’s been first or second in each of his last four races, winning a couple of overnights before serving as the runner up in both the $250.000 KD Preview Nashville Derby and the Grade 2 DMR Derby. Likes to get out on the lead, so we should be looking for him to do the same here. SRF’s have been strong, and he should be a contender here.
8- Ultimate Champion (Night Rider Stables, ridden by K Kimura)- It didn’t take much for Night Rider Stables to get this one in the June auction, needing just $3.460. While he had done decently before that, you can also see why he would not necessarily in an auction that had hundreds available for sale. He’s not a success story yet, as two of his three starts since have been sluggish, but he did run second in the NY Stallion Series- Calloway in August.
9- Side Eye (Mb Stables, ridden by H I Berrios)- Mb Stables might be giving Ultimate Champion some side eye before the race, since he was the one who sold him cheaply in the auction, but he will do fine with his two in this race. Darrow is his more well-known entry, but Side Eye has had a productive career, too. Most of that is in overnights, especially recently. However, last month, he took a big step forward on the year when he was entered into the $2,000.000 Gun Runner. He was fifth, but within a length of the winner.
10- Rolling Rolling (High Voltage, ridden by U Rispoli)- High Voltage claimed this one for $10.000 in July after an uneventful career up to that point. The trainer would run him long on the turf for the first time, and it would be in the Grade 2 Secretariat at CNL, where he was not out of place in a second-place effort. Followed that up with a turf sprint, the Grade 1 $2,000.000 Simpson where he finished in the middle of the field. Should like going long again.
11- Dean Smith (Royalty Stables, ridden by M Demuro)- Has a big name to live up too, and is about to take on the challenge of his lifetime here. Broke his maiden in his seven-career start last month at MTH, and now, here he is. He has some nice works going back a bit, and he just needs to look at Rolling Rolling right next to him as a horse that had no difficulty making a big jump into graded competition. Regardless, I’ll have to see it on the track, first.
Prediction: 4-7-3-6
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES