Silent Bird gets first graded score in Midnight Lute

ARCADIA, Calif. – With foot issues no longer a concern, Silent Bird won his first graded stakes in Saturday’s Grade 3 Midnight Lute Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita.

On Breeders’ Cup weekend at Del Mar in early November, Silent Bird was entered for the Damascus Stakes for sprinters, only to be withdrawn after an abscess surfaced in a foot.

The $100,690 Midnight Lute Stakes was Silent Bird’s first start since a third in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at Del Mar in August. The 5-year-old Silent Bird won his first stakes of the year in the $100,690 Midnight Lute, edging 12-1 Tough Sunday by a neck.

“He’s had a tough year,” trainer Mark Glatt said. “Minor things have come up at inopportune times. It looks like he’s back.”

Silent Bird ($8.20) was timed in 1:16.03. Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Silent Bird was always near the front, stalking the early pace of even-money Americanize, who set fractions of 22.18 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.75 for a half-mile.

Silent Bird wore blinkers for the first time and broke from the rail in a field of seven.

“Mark said to be careful out of the gate and that he could be sluggish,” Desormeaux said. “He was right. I had to ride him hard for a good 100 yards out of there.”

Racing on the inside, Silent Bird took the lead on the turn. He drifted off the rail and then quickly back to the inside in early stretch. Silent Bird led by a head with a furlong remaining.

Tough Sunday rallied four wide in the stretch, leaving jockey Tyler Baze to rue whether his mount would have been more effective closer to Silent Bird.

“I didn’t see the horse,” Baze said. “My horse gave everything he had. It could have been different if we would have been closer.”

Tough Sunday finished a nose in front of Americanize. Calculator finished fourth, followed by Solid Wager, Ike Walker, and Ohio.

Calculator was racing behind Silent Bird in early stretch when the winner ducked to the inside. Glatt was briefly concerned the situation would draw the attention of the stewards.

“Fortunately, there wasn’t an inquiry,” he said.

Silent Bird races for Robbie Norman and has won 6 of 9 starts and earned $316,800. By Summer Bird, Silent Bird won five consecutive races from January 2016 to January of this year, a span that included a win in the Damascus Stakes at Santa Anita in November 2016.