Alsvid will point to Eddie D. Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. – A downhill turf sprint at Santa Anita is the next start for Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint candidate Alsvid, third behind Lord Nelson in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby on July 31 at Del Mar.

Trainer Chris Hartman said Thursday that Alsvid will start in the Grade 3 Eddie D. Stakes on Sept. 30, opening day of the Santa Anita fall meet. “That’s the plan,” Hartman said. “The only races he’s run on turf were five furlongs; he needs a little more distance.”

The Eddie D. is 6 1/2 furlongs, a distance Hartman believes “should hit him right in the grill.”

Alsvid, owned by James Rogers, is a 7-year-old gelding with 15 wins and more than $1.3 million in earnings from 44 starts. He finished second in his last two turf sprints, including a loss to Rocket Heat in the Grade 3 Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs.

The Eddie D. Stakes is the local prep race for the Grade 1, $1 million BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita.