Om to get started in Del Mar Mile

DEL MAR, Calif. – Om, the winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby in 2015 and two other stakes, will return from a five-month layoff in the $200,000 Del Mar Mile on turf Aug. 21.

Trainer Dan Hendricks said on Friday that the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile is not an ideal spot for a comeback, but Om needs a start to make the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 5. Hendricks is also planning to start Om in the $200,000 City of Hope Mile on turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 8.

“It’s a hard race for any horse, let alone one coming off a layoff,” Hendricks said of the Del Mar Mile.

“Where else do you run a horse with [three] stakes wins?”

Owned by K.B. Sareen, Om has not raced since finishing last of six in the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on March 12.

“His feet were bothering him,” Hendricks said. “We thought it was time to give him a rest. His feet are perfect now.”

The Del Mar Mile field is expected to be led by Midnight Storm, who won the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita in June and the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes here on July 17.