Big Runnuer picks up where he left off in Eddie D Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Big Runnuer ended the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting in June with a comfortable win in his stakes debut in the $83,100 Siren Lure Stakes for turf sprinters.

Big Runnuer did not start during the summer and returned to action with a performance comparable to the Siren Lure in Friday’s Grade 3 Eddie D Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Santa Anita, the opening day of the track’s five-week autumn meeting.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Big Runnuer led by as many as 3 1-2 lengths and held off a threat from Wildman Jack to win the $201,000 Eddie D Stakes by a length. Sent off favored, Big Runnuer ($5) was timed in 1:01.15. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 97.

“The race looked like there was some speed to the inside,” Hernandez said. “Today, he broke sharp and I was clear when we broke. I was waiting for the stretch. When I asked him, he switched leads on his own and did everything himself.”

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Wildman Jack, the 5-2 second choice, finished 1 3/4 lengths in front of 7-1 Grit and Curiosity. Sparky Ville finished fourth, followed by El Tigre Terrible, Give Me the Lute, and Mr Vargas. Wildman Jack broke from the inside post and rallied four wide on the turn.

Big Runnuer, a 5-year-old horse owned by Juan Garcia and trained by his son, Victor, gave Hernandez his first stakes win at Santa Anita. Hernandez, 28, was the leading rider earlier this year at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California and relocated to Southern California during the summer.

Juan Garcia is a former leading trainer at Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico, and trained in Southern California until 2008.

Big Runnuer is by Stormy Atlantic and has won 4 of 7 starts and earned $253,660.

Big Runnuer is unbeaten in three starts this year, having won a first-condition optional claimer at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf here in May. All four of his wins have been at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Santa Anita.