Om will point to Arcadia Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. - Rotten traffic in Southern California may have prevented Om from winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar on Nov. 28.

Trainer Dan Hendricks recalled on Sunday that the trailer carrying Om to Del Mar two days before the race was stuck in a traffic jam. A trip that normally takes a little more than two hours took five. As a result, Om was not schooled in the paddock and did not have an ideal preparation, Hendricks said.

“He was wound up,” Hendricks said.

Om was a cool racehorse in Saturday’s $201,500 Mathis Brothers Mile on turf. Ridden by Gary Stevens, Om won his third Grade 2 race of the year in the turf race for 3-year-olds. The win has left Om ready for one-mile turf races against older horses this winter, with the $200,000 Arcadia Stakes on Feb. 13 and the $400,000 Frank Kilroe Mile on March 12 the major goals. The Kilroe is a Grade 1 race.

“Right now, our goal is to get a Grade 1,” Hendricks said.

Owned by K.B. Sareen, Om has won 5 of 10 starts and earned $550,500. He won the Del Mar Derby in September and the Twilight Derby in October.

“He’s more mature and he’s come along really well,” Hendricks said. “The only race he didn’t show that was the Hollywood Derby. The trip down was the problem.”