Returning to a course he loves, Air Force Red will attempt to secure the first rating stake win of his career in the $200,000 Eddie D Staking (G2T) prize on October 1 at Santa Anita Park.
Eddie D competed on the long hillside 6 1/2 track, where Air Force Blue’s 4-year-old son scored first in an allowance race pair this season. Coached by Leonard Powell for Eclipse owners Thoroughbred Partners and Golightly, Air Force Red finished fourth in the Del mar Mile (G2T) on September 3 – his equity debut.
Eddie D is not among the 12 Breeders’ Cup Challenge events this weekend but its top finisher will be considered for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) on November 5. Winner Eddie D. last year, Lieutenant Dan is California’s top grass sprinter and he earned a spot in the Turf Sprint through his victory in the Green Flash Stakes (G3T) on September 4 at Del Mar. Lieutenant Dan finished second at the Turf Sprint last year and is training for the weekend at Keeneland and the possibility of a rematch with the superstar Golden Pal who beat him at Del Mar in the 2021 renewal.
Lieutenant Dan’s absence leaves a suitable team that will see coach Phil D’Amato sent out Gregorian Chant who finished fourth in last year’s Eddie D, and Coulthard , who finished third in this year’s Green Flash. D’Amato’s dazzling performance in Southern California on the field is comparable to Bob Baffert’s encounter on the main track. D’Amato became California’s turf king after coaching a record 57 turf champions at this year’s Santa Anita spring-summer meeting. Gregorian Chant, a 6-year-old boy, leads the nine field with $393,408 in grass income. Coulthard has three wins on grass but is 0 to 4 on hillside grass.
Coach Amador Merei Sanchez will send Dubai Key finish in fourth place in Blue Lightning. Dubai Key figures to challenge the Red Air Force soon after blasting through the fractions: 21 3/5 and: 44 2/5 before tiring in Blue Lightning. If they burn each other, it can be set for Gregorian Chant or Road lane .
Hall of Famer Richard Mandella coached Lane Way, who was inferior to third only twice in nine grass starts. He finished in second place, only 1/4 the length of Lieutenant Dan 2 in Green Flash despite a very difficult ride (collision, crowding, testing). Mandella also runs Goliad , who won by six points on the grass and can track fast pace. He’s coming back within a mile of range, which is usually a plus on the downhill layout.
Eddie D is named in honor of 71-year-old Eddie Delahoussaye, whose Walk of Fame equestrian career began as a boy on Louisiana’s Cajun dust tracks. Of his 6,384 wins, there are five in the Triple Crown series and seven at the Breeders’ Cup.
Item: Eddie D S. (G2T)
Santa Anita . ParkSaturday, October 1, 2022, Race 7
- Level II
- About 6 1/2f
- Grass field downhill
- 200,000 dollars
- 3 years or more
- 3:30pm (local)
