By Jill Williams
In the first race of the Keeneland meet to stay on the grass after torrential rains throughout Kentucky, Amerman homebred Test Score (c, 3, Lookin At Lucky–Joy of Learning, by Kitten's Joy) captured Monday's rescheduled $600,000 GIII Transylvania Stakes and gave rider Manny Franco two consecutive black-type victories on the day after winning the Lafayette Stakes one race prior with 'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma).
Test Score broke forwardly in the Transylvania, settling into an unbothered fifth on the outside as three-straight stakes winner Mi Bago (Vekoma) showed the way through a :23.01 first quarter. Keeping just abreast of traffic behind the :47.25 half, the bay inched up on the turn before bumping hard with Chasing Liberty (Constitution) while about five wide as the field made the stretch. Test Score appeared to find another gear as he swapped to his correct lead, devouring the ground with exuberance as Mi Bago retreated, MSP Maui Strong (Kitten's Joy) charged up the rail, and SW and MGSP Scipio (Caravaggio) chased him home. Trained by Graham Motion, Test Score bested Scipio by 1 1/4 lengths with Maui Strong finishing third.
“He broke so good and put me right into the race,” said Franco. “He was traveling really well in the beginning of the race. He handled the ground really well, too. I was happy where I was, and when he was feeling the horses coming, he just gave me another gear. He was competitive in the race and got it done.”
Although the Transylvania was his first black-type victory, Test Score previously dipped his toes in graded waters last August at Saratoga, finishing fifth in the GIII With Anticipation Stakes as a maiden. A little more than a month later, he broke his maiden in his third start in a one-mile contest over the Keeneland lawn. From there, it was on to Del Mar, where he finished second to fellow Transylvania entrant Chasing Liberty in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes Nov. 1. After a brief freshening, he reappeared Feb. 1 with a third at Gulfstream in the Kitten's Joy Stakes before making it two-for-two at Keeneland Monday.
Pedigree Notes:
Long-time Ashford Stud sire Lookin At Lucky, who shuttled to Chile for a number of years, has remained in that country at Haras Don Alberto since the 2023 Southern Hemisphere season and has no return to the U.S. scheduled. Test Score is one of 52 graded winners and 79 black-type winners worldwide for Lookin At Lucky, who was named Eclipse champion at both two and three. He has been Chile's leading sire twice.
The winning Joy of Learning, dam of Test Score as well as 2-year-old filly Screen Test (Not This Time) and a yearling colt by War of Will, is a half-sister to both GISW Coffee Clique (Medaglia d'Oro) and to MGSW Admission Office (Point of Entry), while MGSW Endlessly (Oscar Performance) is a member of her extended family. Oscar Performance, who stands at Mill Ridge, was–like Test Score–bred by the Amermans, who have long been associated with Mill Ridge. Oscar Performance is a son of Kitten's Joy, while Joy of Learning is one of the late stallion's daughters. Test Score, a third-generation Amerman-bred, is Kitten's Joy 63rd stakes winner as a broodmare sire. His dam was bred to Liam's Map for this term.
Monday, Keeneland
TRANSYLVANIA S. PRESENTED BY KEENELAND SELECT-GIII, $597,500, Keeneland, 4-7, 3yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.84, gd.
1–TEST SCORE, 118, c, 3, by Lookin At Lucky
1st Dam: Joy of Learning, by Kitten's Joy
2nd Dam: Miss Chapin, by Royal Academy
3rd Dam: Society Dream (Fr), by Akarad (Fr)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Amerman
Racing LLC; B-Jerry Amerman (KY); T-H. Graham Motion;
J-Manuel Franco. $339,450. Lifetime Record: 6-2-2-1,
$477,725. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus.*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Scipio, 118, r, 3, Caravaggio–Soul Spirit, by Quality Road.
($60,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Calvin Nguyen & Joey C Tran;
B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Richard Baltas. $109,500.
3–Maui Strong, 118, c, 3, Kitten's Joy–Legal Tender, by Giant's
Causeway. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($275,000 Ylg '23
FTSAUG). O-West Point Thoroughbreds, Blue Devil Racing
Stable (Holliday) & Edwin S Barker; B-Blue Devil Racing Stable,
LLC (KY); T-Dale L. Romans. $54,750.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 9.74, 8.41, 18.85.
Also Ran: Reagan's Wit, Chasing Liberty, Hammerhead, Versus, Clock Tower, Tom's Magic, Mi Bago, Golden Afternoon, Barricade. Scratched: Pretty Capable, Sabertooth, Septarian, Valentinian. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
It was an A+ performance by #7 TEST SCORE ($21.48) in the $600,000 Transylvania Stakes (G3) at @keenelandracing. The son of Lookin at Lucky was ridden by @jockeyfranco, trained by @GrahamMotion, and owned by Amerman Racing. pic.twitter.com/qaSCKf5Bre
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) April 7, 2025
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