Michael Talla, the man who has helped thousands of customers improve their cardio through his network of fitness centers, got a stern test of his own ticker at Del Mar on the afternoon of Aug. 9 while watching his 2-year-old filly Holmby wrestle head to head with the international traveler Ruiva before they hit the wire as a team at the end of the $150,500 Sorrento Stakes (G3) at 6 furlongs.
The decision went to Holmby by a neck, with both fillies deserving praise for an exciting show from the drop of the flag. Ruiva, making her first start since her admirable third-place finish in the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) during the Royal Ascot festival in England, popped right to the lead under Yedsit Hazlewood, with Belleza Latina in close pursuit. This allowed Juan Hernandez, aboard Holmby, to let his filly cruise along at a safe distance in third, arm's length from an opening quarter in :21.91.
"I rode Ruiva twice before, so I knew how fast she was," Hernandez said. "I didn't want to go after her right away if I didn't have to."
Belleza Latina, though, surrendered even before the far turn arrived, prompting Hernandez to attack the leader. From there it was the two chestnuts in a rousing battle—the white-faced Ruiva on the inside, the caramel-coated Holmby on the outside. It was not until the final yards that Talla's filly inched ahead, stopping the clock in 1:10.73. Crazy Hot Mess finished third, more than seven lengths behind the top two.
"That was a squeaker, but she gutted it out," Talla said as Holmby was led out of the winner's circle. "She's a tough one. We call her Little Biscuit."
As nicknames go, that one will do, especially if Holmby goes on to enhance her 2-for-2 record in the Del Mar Debutante (G1) later in the meet. She won her debut on Del Mar's opening weekend and worked twice since to convince trainer Bob Baffert that the Sorrento was the next logical step.
Talla was already having a banner season with Splendora, his Breeders' Cup-winning filly of 2025. The daughter of Audible has won four of five starts in 2026, including the Molly Pitcher Stakes (G2) at Monmouth Park last time out.
Three of Baffert's nine previous Sorrento winners have gone on to win the local Debutante. If Holmby makes that Sept. 5 date, there's a good chance Ruiva will be standing in her way once again, if she gets a green light from her trainer, Wesley Ward.
Holmby is a daughter of Corniche, becoming the first graded stakes winner for her sire, who stood the 2026 season at Coolmore America for an advertised fee of $15,000.
Talla needed only $55,000 to buy Holmby at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale of yearlings. The Sorrento winner is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Candida H. and was bred by 40 Acre Farm in Indiana.
