Eclisse uncatchable over the slop

Eclisse has always been better on turf than dirt. But over a speed-favoring, sloppy track, Eclisse ($9) was more than good enough to register a wire-to-wire 2 1/4-length decision over Cat Can Do in the $55,000 Liberada Stakes at Calder.

As has been the case with turf racing locally for much of the past month, the 1 1/8-mile Liberada was scheduled for grass but switched to a wet main track.

Eclisse, a 5-year-old daughter of Ski Chief, was making just her second start since finishing sixth in the Matchmaker last August at Monmouth Park. As expected, she sped right to the lead from her inside post and set modest fractions under jockey Javier Santiago. She settled into the stretch with a comfortable advantage, and was not seriously threatened by Cat Can Do's final surge.

Cat Can Do, who likely would not have started had the Liberada gone as scheduled on grass, raced at the rear of the pack for nearly six furlongs. She angled out while commencing his bid into the stretch and finished willingly to be second best, nearly two lengths clear of Awesome Moment.

Awesome Alexandra, the 5-2 favorite and the winner's uncoupled stablemate, stalked the pace into the far turn before fading to finish a well-beaten fifth.

Eclisse is trained by Marty Wolfson for owner Edmund Gann. She completed the distance in 1:54.89.