Midnight Storm wears target for Eddie Read
DEL MAR, Calif. – Midnight Storm will be barreling along on or near the front in Saturday’s $400,000 Eddie Read Stakes at Del Mar when the field turns for home. His performance through the stretch of the turf race at 1 1/8 miles will play a huge role in his schedule for August.
A win could lead to a start in the $1 million Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles on dirt Aug. 22, the richest race of the track’s summer meeting. An alternative is the $250,000 Del Mar Mile on turf the following day.
Either way, Midnight Storm’s performance will dictate the outcome of the Grade 1 Eddie Read.
Midnight Storm had a three-race winning streak end with a half-length loss to Talco in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita on June 13. He was second early, led in the stretch, and was caught in the final sixteenth.
The same scenario could develop in the Read, with multiple stakes winner Finnegans Wake posing a late threat. At the same time, Midnight Storm could lead throughout, the way he did in winning by 3 1/4 lengths in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby here last August in his stakes debut.
At the time, Midnight Storm was a 17-1 outsider. He will be closer to 1.7-1 in the Read.
KEY CONTENDERS
Midnight Storm (Last 3 Beyers: 102-106-95)
◗ Trained by Phil D’Amato for Alex Venneri, Marjorie Post Dye, and the Little Red Feather partnership, Midnight Storm has won three of four starts since being switched to turf last summer.
◗ D’Amato said Midnight Storm has thrived since the Shoemaker Mile.
◗ Midnight Storm has a likely pace rival in Big Cazanova, but D’Amato said that does not worry him.
“The bottom line is I want my horse to run his race,” D’Amato said. “If Big Cazanova wants to go, we’ll circle around him. The only horse that can beat Midnight Storm is Midnight Storm.”
◗ As for the Pacific Classic, D’Amato said the race is just a thought. The Breeders’ Cup Mile on turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31 is the long-term goal for Midnight Storm.
“We’ll take it race by race with him,” D’Amato said. “He’s such a versatile animal and trains so well on dirt and turf. We’ll weigh our options. Our ultimate goal is a Breeders’ Cup race.”
Finnegans Wake (Last 3 Beyers: 91-100-100)
◗ Trained by Peter Miller, Finnegans Wake has won four graded stakes on turf at distances ranging from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/2 miles since late November, including the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on May 2. In that race at 1 1/8 miles, Finnegans Wake overcame a tough trip and rallied four wide.
◗ The 6-year-old horse is winless in two subsequent starts, finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park on June 6 and a closing fourth in a rare dirt start in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 27.
◗ Miller also trains Big Cazanova, who was fifth in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita. Big Cazanova is winless in three starts on turf but did win the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes on a synthetic track here last November.
Gabriel Charles (Last 3 Beyers: 97-89-86)
◗ Gabriel Charles is a 5-year-old who missed all of 2014 and has had two starts this year, finishing second, beaten 7 3/4 lengths, to Midnight Storm in an optional claimer on turf April 16 and a troubled third in the American Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 9.
◗ Gabriel Charles raced in traffic in early stretch of the American Stakes and rallied to miss by 2 1/4 lengths. If the pace is hot, Gabriel Charles could be a threat from off the pace Saturday.