Santa Anita: Craftsman set for U.S. debut in Eddie Logan Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Of the four 2-year-olds in Saturday’s $75,000 Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita who began their careers in Europe, Craftsman is the most accomplished, having won a Grade 3 stakes in Ireland in October.

Craftsman will need that experience to win the Logan Stakes over a mile in his U.S. debut. The Logan will be Craftsman’s first start for trainer Simon Callaghan and owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. They considered starting Craftsman in the Grade 3 Generous Stakes at Hollywood Park on Nov. 30 and the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity there Dec. 14 before opting for the Logan.

“We decided we’d wait from a fitness standpoint,” Callaghan said. “It was definitely a good decision not to run in the CashCall. It was a matter of being patient.”

Craftsman was previously trained by Aidan O’Brien in Ireland. A colt by Mastercraftsman, Craftsman won 2 of 4 starts in Ireland. He won the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes over seven furlongs at Leopardstown on Oct. 27, leading throughout.

Craftsman is joined in the Logan by the English imports Morally Bankrupt, Noble Metal, and Royal Banker. The Logan drew a field of eight.

Royal Banker has started once in this country, finishing third in the Generous Stakes. He lost by two lengths to Global View after a slow start.

“I think he will run remarkably better than the first time,” trainer Eoin Harty said. “He’s blossomed since his last race. If he doesn’t run better, I’ll be disappointed. He didn’t have an ideal prep, and he’s rebounded. He’s got a good turn of foot. If he breaks slowly, he can drop over and save some ground.”

Noble Metal was unplaced in two stakes in England, one in July and one in August, before finishing a well-beaten second in an allowance race at Newmarket on Oct. 23.

Frequently, European runners have an advantage over their American counterparts in 2-year-old turf races, but that might not be the case in the Logan Stakes.

Enterprising is the best of the four runners who spent the entire year in the United States. Trained by Tom Proctor, Enterprising won a maiden race over a mile at Hollywood Park on Nov. 16 in his first start on turf. He stalked the pace for the first half-mile, moved into contention on the turn, and won by 1 3/4 lengths as an even-money favorite.

The other American runners each won a maiden race in his most recent start – Flagman, Lucky Views, and My Secret Affair.

Kalookan Queen fails to fill

Saturday’s nine-race program was supposed to have two $75,000 stakes in addition to the Grade 3 Daytona, but the Kalookan Queen Stakes for female sprinters failed to draw sufficient entries. The Kalookan Queen was designed as a prep race for the $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes over seven furlongs Jan. 25.

The Kalookan Queen Stakes was scheduled less than two weeks after the $100,250 Playa Del Rey Stakes for female sprinters at Hollywood Park on Dec. 15. The Playa Del Rey Stakes had only six starters. Many of the Playa Del Rey runners are expected for the Santa Monica.