Mr Speaker, the G1 winning half-brother to Wilgerbosdrift’s well performed War Front horse Fire Away, enjoyed more big race success when his three-year-old son Speaking Scout won Saturday’s G1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar.
The gelded Speaking Scout outran nine other 3-year-olds in the mile and one-eighth grass headliner on a three-stakes day at the seaside oval and earned a first prize of $240,000. It was his fourth career victory and pushed his bankroll up to $500,666.
Shipped west by trainer H. Graham Motion in October, Speaking Scout had run second in the Grade II Twilight Derby at Santa Anita under Juan Hernandez. Del Mar’s leading rider was up on him again this afternoon and piloted him nicely through the big field to finish with a strong, late rush. Final time for the nine panels was 1:49.34.
Speaking Scout, who had  captured the Hawthorne Derby earlier in the year, is out of the Pleasant Tap mare Miss Scout.
His sire Mr Speaker, whose progeny also include G1 Ashland Stakes victress Speech, won six times including the G1 Belmont Derby and G2 Commonwealth Cup.
A son of Pulpit, Mr Speaker is a half-brother to graded stakes winners Vigilantes Way (G3 Eatontown Stakes) and Fire Away (G3 Dixie Stakes).
The latter, whose sire War  Front is the sire of Saturday’s G3 Jimmy Durante Stakes winner Liguria, has his first runners this season.