Midnight Storm going back to the turf

ARCADIA, Calif. – Midnight Storm is returning to turf after three consecutive losses on dirt. Trainer Phil D’Amato said this week that the 6-year-old Midnight Storm will be pointed for the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on July 22 or the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 20. Midnight Storm won both races in 2016.

Owned by Alex Venneri and Little Red Feather Racing, Midnight Storm was later third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile on turf at Santa Anita. He won the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes on dirt at Del Mar in November and the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 1.

More recently, Midnight Storm was second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in March, third in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in April, and fourth in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 27, all dirt races.

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“We’ll switch back to the grass,” D’Amato said. “We’ve got a graded stakes win on dirt.

“We want to freshen him and point for his best spot in the Breeders’ Cup.”

The Breeders’ Cup will be held at Del Mar on Nov. 3-4. D’Amato considers Midnight Storm a candidate for the BC Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 or the BC Mile on Nov. 4.

By Pioneerof the Nile, Midnight Storm has won 10 of 24 starts, including seven stakes, and earned $1,711,110.