Distance of Eddie Read might pose biggest challenge to United

Unbeaten in two starts in graded stakes at 1 1/4 miles this year, United is the clear leader among California’s marathon turf runners.

But Sunday’s Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar is at 1 1/8 miles on turf, a distance that could put United in a vulnerable position against a group of accomplished rivals who have excelled at distances ranging from a mile to 1 1/4 miles in recent starts.

United will be favored in the $200,000 Read Stakes.

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“I wish it was further,” trainer Richard Mandella said on Thursday. “This is the best race we’ve got. He’s very good right now and fresh.”

Owned by Larry, Nancy, and Jaime Roth’s LNJ Foxwoods, United won at 1 1/8 miles on turf last July in an allowance race with a $62,500 claiming option at Del Mar. At the time, United had finished second in his lone stakes appearance.

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Last November, United finished second at 51-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles at Santa Anita, leading in the stretch before missing by a head to eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar.

The win set the tone for a 2020 campaign that Mandella and the Roths hope will lead to start in the BC Turf at Keeneland on Nov. 7. Mandella envisions the Read as a prep for the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf. The winner of that race receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf.

The Read alone is a difficult objective. The presence of five other graded stakes winners – Bowies Hero, Cleopatra’s Strike, Combatant, Neptune’s Storm, and Sharp Samurai – and the graded stakes-placed Originaire make the Read the rare race that any starter can win.

Originaire, trained by Jeff Mullins, was an unlucky third in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes on May 23, won by United. Originaire raced in traffic in the final furlong and was promoted to second after original second-place finisher Rockemperor was disqualified for causing interference.

Originaire, who tends to run from off the pace, was second by a neck in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles last September.

Combatant, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles on dirt in March, and Sharp Samurai, a five-time stakes winner on turf, were entered in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Diego Handicap.

Trainer John Sadler said on Friday that he was leaning toward starting Combatant in the San Diego.

Combatant is winless in eight starts on turf, but was third by a half-length in the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile on the surface at Santa Anita in December 2018. Sharp Samurai finished in a dead-heat for third in the Grade 3 American Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on June 21 in his first start of 2020.

Sharp Samurai won the 2017 Del Mar Derby.

The Read distance is a good fit for Bowies Hero, Cleopatra’s Strike, and Neptune’s Storm.

Neptune’s Storm stalked the pace and won the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile on turf by a head at Golden Gate Fields on June 14. Neptune’s Storm won three stakes in 2019, including two races at 1 1/8 miles. He may inherit the lead in the Read.

“He doesn’t have to have the lead,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “He has a lot of natural speed, so he’ll be in the race.”

Bowies Hero won the 2019 Read and was second by a length in the American Stakes in his 2020 debut, closing from seventh in a field of nine.

“He galloped out ultra-strong in that race,” trainer Phil D’Amato said.

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Bowies Hero was fifth in the BC Mile last November after racing in third on the turn. If a moderate pace develops in the Read, Bowies Hero could be near the front.

“I think he’s tactical,” D’Amato said. “He was right there in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. If they’re going slow, he’ll be breathing down their neck.”

Cleopatra’s Strike finished seventh in the American Stakes in his first start since a second by a half-length to United in the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita in February.

“He needed that one off the bench,” D’Amato said. “He got into some traffic problems. He was boxed in. He should move forward, too.”

Those runners pose a threat to United, who has been ridden by Flavien Prat in eight of his 13 starts, including his last seven appearances, and will have Prat aboard on Sunday. Prat was aboard United for the two stakes wins earlier this year, and the close finish in the BC Turf.

United has won from off the pace and as a stalker for Prat.

“He’s pretty versatile,” Prat said. “He’s a grinder. I think he can run a good race going 1 1/8 miles. He has the class for that.”