Award Winner will need ‘A' game again in Eddie Read
DEL MAR, Calif. – Award Winner ran the best race of his career when he scored a mild upset in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on May 29 at Santa Anita. Award Winner will have to run at least as well to win against a tougher field Saturday in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar.
A 5-year-old gelding trained by David Hofmans, Award Winner beat three rivals in the Whittingham, including United, a five-time stakes winner who was last in the Whittingham and is part of the field for the $250,000 Eddie Read Stakes.
The Read field also is expected to include Count Again, Restrainedvengence, Say the Word, Smooth Like Strait – who all have won a graded stakes since late November –and the Kentucky shipper Vintage Print.
Award Winner won the Whittingham from a stalking position, taking the lead in the final strides under jockey Juan Hernandez, who has the mount in the Read. Hofmans is hoping for a similar trip in the Eddie Read and said he would not be opposed to Award Winner setting the pace.
“If he can get a nice, uncontested lead, he’ll be tough,” Hofmans said. “I don’t think that will happen.”
Owned by Amerman Racing, Award Winner has won 2 of 4 starts this year. After the Read, Award Winner might run in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 21, which offers a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf here on Nov. 6.
“We’ve got to get past the weekend,” Hofmans said.
Sunday, Award Winner worked five furlongs on turf in 1:02.20. If Award Winner wins the Read, it will be the first graded stakes win on turf at Del Mar for the 78-year-old Hofmans since Yearly Tour won the Grade 2 Palomar Handicap in 1996. The Palomar is now known as the Yellow Ribbon Handicap.
Last September, Hofmans won the Del Mar Juvenile Turf with Big Fish, who is nearing his first workout since being given a rest earlier this year. Big Fish won the California Cup Derby for statebreds at Santa Anita in January.
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Hit the Road, who won the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March, won’t run in the Read, trainer Dan Blacker said Sunday. Hit the Road is in training following a brief rest in the spring.
The Read is the richest of five stakes at Del Mar from Friday through Sunday. Going Global, who won four stakes this year at Santa Anita, will be a strong favorite in the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf on Saturday, the only other graded stakes at Del Mar this week.