Eunomia surprises in lackluster Clement L. Hirsch Stakes
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ARCADIA, Calif. – East Coast shipper Eunomia caught ideal circumstances for her first start in a Grade 1 on Saturday at Del Mar, and she took advantage by scoring a low-rated upset in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes.
Eunomia ($26.80) won the Hirsch by a half-length over Om N Joy. The pacesetter Simply Joking finished third; Seismic Beauty finished eighth as the 3-2 favorite. The final time of the 1 1/16-mile Hirsch was a laggard 1:44.10. She will not earn much of a speed figure.
Saffie Joseph trains Eunomia, whose previous starts in graded races produced a second and third. Joseph entered her last weekend in a Grade 2 at Saratoga, but after monitoring the prospective field for the Hirsch, the trainer switched plans.
“We had her in the Shuvee last weekend,” Joseph said. “We thought this was a good spot. It’s a Grade 1, and if we didn’t win it, if we ran second or third, it was more important than running second or third in the Shuvee. We had three chances in this to enhance her value (with a Grade 1 placing).”
Joseph did not give specific instructions to Micah Husbands, who was riding Eunomia for the first time, and riding at Del Mar for the first time. Strategy was up to Husbands.
“He (Joseph) just told me see what happens with the pace, try to get into a nice rhythm,” Husbands said. “It didn’t seem like they were going fast for these type of horses. She was traveling easy.”
Simply Joking set the pace inside, with Seismic Beauty pressing two-wide. Eunomia was three-wide pushing the fractions of :46.81 and 1:10.99. On the far turn, Seismic Beauty suddenly dropped out. Eunomia ranged outside Simply Joking, got the best of that rival in midstretch, and held sway in a slow race that was visually unimpressive.
Eunomia, whose last-start misfire at Aqueduct was due to the wet track, earned a fees-paid berth for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff by winning the Hirsch. The slow final time and bunched-up field – the top four were separated by less than two lengths – makes Eunomia a BC longshot at best.
Om N Joy rallied from sixth and narrowed the gap late to finish second under Kent Desormeaux. Aggie Ordonez trains Om N Joy, who was coming off a Grade 2 victory in the Santa Margarita at Santa Anita. In the Hirsch, Om N Joy maintained her top form.
“I loved it,” Ordonez said about Om N Joy’s effort. “She showed guts and courage all the way, I lived every part about it.” Every part, that is, except for falling short by a half-length.
Simply Joking set the pace inside over a main track that some believe was biased to the outside. Michael McCarthy trains Simply Joking. “Given the way the inside’s been here the last couple days, I thought she battled back very game,” McCarthy said.
The disappointment was Seismic Beauty, who won the Hirsch last summer but bombed both starts since. Seismic Beauty was empty on the far turn and beat only one horse as the 3-2 favorite.
The win by Eunomia’s jockey was the second Grade 1 of his career. Husbands won the Apple Blossom on Claret Beret this spring at Oaklawn.
The last Hirsch winner to run well in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff was 2022 winner Blue Stripe. In her next start, Blue Stripe finished second by a nose in the BC Distaff at Keeneland. Beholder won the Hirsch and Pacific Classic in 2025, missed the BC Distaff that year, and won the BC Distaff in 2016.
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