Morning Matcha is the 8-5 morning line favorite for Saturday’s $150,000 Obeah Stakes for fillies and mares at Delaware Park. The 1 1/16-mile Obeah is the local prep for the Grade 2, $500,000 Delaware Handicap at 1 3/16 miles on July 8. Morning Matcha raced 10 times last year, with her biggest victory coming in the Main Line Stakes at Parx on March 8. She proved herself against graded competition when third in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks on July 2, second in the Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx on Sept. 24, and third in the Grade 3 Comely on Nov. 22. “She almost went from Saratoga from her 2-year-old year to the end of her 3-year-old year without a break,” said trainer Butch Reid, who gave Morning Matcha a well-deserved vacation after the Comely. Morning Matcha returned to the races in the Unique Bella at Parx on April 24, and earned a career-best 95 Beyer despite lugging 128 pounds at a seven-furlong distance shorter than her best. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Forced to stay closer to the pace than usual in the Unique Bella because of a slow pace and a short field, Morning Matcha eased outside odds-on stablemate Disco Ebo and readily went by despite failing to change leads. “I was a little surprised that she was able to run down Disco Ebo, because Disco Ebo is a quality filly in her own right,” Reid said. “She laid closer than I thought she would.” Reid also entered Pistol Liz Ablazen in the Obeah, but said he will scratch that filly to await an upcoming allowance at Parx. Morning Matcha will receive five pounds from both Traverse and Hybrid Eclipse. Traverse looks to become the first stakes winner for Riley Mott, who took over the Claiborne Farm homebred’s training last winter. Fourth in the Pippin at Oaklawn Park in January in her first start for Mott, Traverse then reeled off two allowance victories at Oaklawn before finishing last of six in Keeneland’s Grade 3 Doubledogdare on April 21. Traverse is expected to be close to the pace under Jaime Rodriguez. Hybrid Eclipse has won three stakes since Brittany Russell took over her training from Linda Rice last June. Hybrid Eclipse was purchased by Stuart Grant’s The Elkstone Group for $107,000 at Fasig-Tipton last July. Hybrid Eclipse enters following a seventh-place finish in the Heavenly Cause at Laurel Park on April 15. Like Morning Matcha, she prefers to have some pace in front of her. Award Wanted finished third in the Heavenly Cause and is a three-time winner at Delaware Park. By Macho Uno, Award Wanted has hit the board in her last eight races, including a victory in Laurel’s restricted Geisha on Jan. 21. Tap the Faith, a $1.25 million yearling purchase by Tapit out of Grade 1 Alabama winner Embellish the Lace, has won two of her last three. Trained by Christophe Clement, she will make her seasonal debut in the Obeah. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.