Om moving on beyond trivia

DEL MAR, Calif. – Om, the 3-year-old scheduled to start in Sunday’s $150,000 La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar, has been the answer to a racing trivia question for so long that trainer Dan Hendricks has embraced the colt’s quirky identity.

Name the horse who won the maiden race in which American Pharoah made his career debut in August 2014. Om won a maiden race at five furlongs by 7 1/4 lengths, with American Pharoah only fifth.

“It’s fun,” Hendricks said. “I can’t think of many more maiden races that were tougher than that one.”

Aside from the star Triple Crown winner in American Pharoah, Om beat a field that included the stakes winners Calculator and Daddy D T and the stakes-placed runners Iron Fist and One Lucky Dane.

American Pharoah has become a household name in the last year. Om, who races for K.B. Sareen, has yet to win a stakes, which may change Sunday.

The Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap provides an opportunity for Om to gain his own identity and become the latest stakes winner from that historic maiden race a year ago.

Hendricks has been planning to run Om in the La Jolla for a while. He skipped the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds on the opening day of this meeting July 16 to go in the La Jolla at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

“I didn’t want to run in a full field of horses, with some of them coming out of sprints, on a chaotic opening day,” Hendricks said. “I thought we could get a more relaxed race.”

Patience has been key for Hendricks with Om. After the maiden-race win, Om was sidelined with an inflamed hock.

“It was the plan to come back in the Del Mar Futurity,” he said. “I thought I might be favored.”

American Pharoah won the Del Mar Futurity last September and has not lost since, a span of eight races that includes the $1.75 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park last Sunday.

Om went to the sidelines last year and eventually to Julie Adair-Stack’s layup facility in Southern California. He returned to the Hendricks stable at Santa Anita in late winter. Hendricks said Om underwent nuclear scans and X-rays that showed that time off was the best way to heal the injury.

“He came back looking great,” Hendricks said.

Om was fifth in his first start of 2015, the San Pedro Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters at Santa Anita on April 12, but rebounded to win his turf debut in an optional claimer at a mile May 10.

“He took to the turf and showed he wants to route,” Hendricks said. “He answered a lot of questions.”

On June 7, Om was third in his graded stakes debut in the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes, leading to early stretch. He finished three lengths behind Gimme Da Lute, who since then has won two stakes, including the Real Good Deal Stakes for California-bred sprinters at Del Mar on Sunday.

“He ran well, I thought, but he got a little tired,” Hendricks said. “He was a little too fresh in the Affirmed.”

Nine weeks later, Om will have his turf stakes debut against the turf stakes winners Bolo and Papacoolpapacool. A winning race would push Om closer to a start in the $250,000 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6, a race Hendricks has sought to win for years.

“I’ve won the Oak Tree Derby, Santa Anita Derby, and Hollywood Derby,” he said. “I’ve wanted to win it for a long time. They’re not races with the biggest purse or the biggest prestige, but they’re great to win. We’re close now.”