Course gives Om edge over Tribalist in Eddie D

ARCADIA, Calif. – The 6 1/2-furlong hillside turf course at Santa Anita seems like a neutral distance for Om, a miler, and Tribalist, a five-furlong specialist.

But when those stakes winners meet nine others in the Grade 3 Eddie D Stakes on Friday, opening day of the Santa Anita autumn meet, the miler will enter with a distinct advantage and corresponding low odds.

“He loved the hill,” said Om’s trainer, Dan Hendricks, referring to Om’s runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last fall.

That was Om’s only turf sprint at Santa Anita, and arguably the best race of his career.

Om returns to the downhill course Friday for the third start of his campaign, while trying to end an eight-race losing streak dating to a win on Dec. 26, 2015. Since then, Om has been second or third in seven consecutive graded stakes run on firm turf. Trainer Dan Hendricks is switching jockeys from Gary Stevens to Drayden Van Dyke and putting blinkers on Om “just to shake things up.”

Blinkers “seem to help in the morning,” Hendricks said. “It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a while.”

Tribalist overcame a seemingly impossible trip to win his comeback in a five-furlong turf stakes last month, but trainer Blake Heap acknowledges the dissimilarity between the five-furlong Green Flash at Del Mar and the 6 1/2 furlongs of the Eddie D.

“If the race was five-eighths on the turf, I’d love him,” Heap said. “Six and a half down the hill, I don’t know. Big difference. Horses that can run a mile can really run on this hill course.”

A big win Friday would give owners Robert Abrams, Mitchell Dutko, and Michael Paran reason to consider spending $100,000 to make Tribalist eligible to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 4 at Del Mar. Paran is particularly game. He wagered $10,000 on Tribalist when he paid $12.60 winning the Green Flash.

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Heap suggested his owners take a wait-and-see approach regarding the Breeders’ Cup: “Let’s get by this one first. If he runs awesome, we’ll think about it.”

Om is not a BC Turf Sprint candidate due to the five-furlong distance, and the BC Mile is a remote possibility.

“He’d have to win impressively,” Hendricks said. “If he can do that, then we’ll think about it.”

Om, made the 8-5 favorite by Santa Anita linemaker Jon White, and Tribalist are the top contenders in the $100,000 Eddie D, the final race on the nine-race card. Contenders include downhill stakes winners Coastline and Guns Loaded, and multiple stakes winner California Diamond, a comebacker gelded since he last raced and trying turf for the first time.

Likely pacesetter Rocket Heat has a longshot chance. Graded stakes-winning mare Prize Exhibit will rally. The others in the field are Forever Juanito, Krsto Skye, Zarqa Star, and Mr. Roary.

Key CONTENDERS

Om, by Munnings

Last 3 Beyers: 100-104-106

◗ Om, owned by the Sareen Family Trust of K.B. Sareen, is the second-leading earner sired by Munnings. Om has won five races and $892,845 from 18 starts.

◗ Van Dyke has worked Om in the morning. A win by Om would be Van Dyke’s first stakes victory on the hill.

Tribalist, by Tribal Rule

Last 3 Beyers: 91-90-87

◗ His comeback victory in the Green Flash was more impressive than the margin or Beyer Speed Figure indicate. He steadied at the start, the three-eighths, and the five-sixteenths, and won by a head.

◗ Victor Espinoza rides Tribalist, a 6-year-old gelding whose problematic tendons have allowed him to start just six times. He has won four races and $220,900.

Coastline, by Speightstown

Last 3 Beyers: 80-80-92

◗ A stakes winner on the hill in winter 2016, he was claimed for $62,500 by Hronis Racing in August, with the intention of running him down the hill at Santa Anita, trainer John Sadler said. Flavien Prat rides.