Smooth Like Strait, United throw down in Eddie Read
DEL MAR, Calif. – When the two top turf horses in California meet for the first time Saturday at Del Mar, you’d have to give the edge to Smooth Like Strait over United.
It’s not an easy call. At a mile and one-eighth, the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes might be a reach for Smooth Like Strait. As for United, who won the Read last year, the distance is shorter than he typically runs.
Either way, Smooth Like Strait and United stand out in the Read. Smooth Like Strait won the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile last out, his sixth stakes and fifth graded win. United, who misfired with an alibi last out, is a five-time graded winner and runner-up in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Smooth Like Strait and United top the $250,000 Read, race 8 on a card that includes the return of Going Global in the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes, race 10.
Smooth Like Strait and United are the most accomplished Read entrants; five others will try to upset. Graded winners Say the Word, Count Again, Award Winner, and Restrainedvengence are entered, along with Kentucky shipper Vintage Print.
When all is said and done, Smooth Like Strait’s tactical speed will make him tough to beat.
It probably is unfair to label Smooth Like Strait as strictly a turf miler.
“I think he’s very good at a mile,” trainer Michael McCarthy said, and he paused. He was not finished.
“I think he’s very good at a mile and an eighth, and I think his race in Kentucky showed that,” McCarthy said, referring to Smooth Like Strait’s third-place finish, beaten a neck, in the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. “His saddle slipped like a foot that day. Is that race at Churchill good enough to win this race here?”
Although five of the six stakes won by Smooth Like Strait were at a mile and one-sixteenth or less, he is no slouch at a mile and one-eighth. His three tries at the distance resulted in his Turf Classic third, a runner-up finish by a head in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby last fall at Del Mar, and a pace-pressing win in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby last fall at Santa Anita.
Smooth Like Strait’s up-front style provides an advantage in the Read, which is likely to unfold at a soft tempo. Award Winner is the only apparent pace rival for Smooth Like Strait, who can make the lead or sit second. Jockey Umberto Rispoli has options. Smooth Like Strait has won seven races and $933,823 from 15 starts, all for owner-breeder Cannon Thoroughbreds.
United, the top distance turf horse in California the past two seasons, enters the Read off a curiously subpar performance in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham. Favored at 3-10, he finished last of four. Trainer Richard Mandella was initially puzzled.
“We looked and scanned and everything, and couldn’t find anything,” he said.
Two weeks after the race, Mandella had United reshod.
“When we took the shoe off, you could see a little something,” Mandella said. “It was minor, it wasn’t a lot, but it could have been pinching him when he was running. It’s like finding a rock in your shoe.”
United has worked well since, though Mandella acknowledged he “hasn’t had the company to work with him I would have liked.”
“That sometimes helps get them sharpened up,” he said. “You don’t always have the horses to do it with.”
Flavien Prat rides United, whose five stakes wins include four at a mile and one-quarter or more. He is 2 for 2 at mile and one-eighth. United, owned by LNJ Foxwoods, has won eight races and $1,525,549 from 19 starts. Flavien Prat is his regular rider and will be aboard Saturday.
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Mandella was asked if he expects United to return to form in the Read. He pointed at the gelding, whose head was poking out of his Del Mar stall and playfully bobbing up and down.
“He’s trying to tell you right there,” Mandella said.
Phil D’Amato starts a pair – Say the Word and Count Again, both U.S. Grade 2 winners. Say the Word finished second to Smooth Like Strait last out.
“I thought going a mile, which isn’t his optimal distance, he ran great,” D’Amato said. “He galloped out like a monster. A mile and an eighth on a course he really likes, he should be in a good spot.”
Say the Word earned the top Beyer Figure of his career, 102, finishing third last fall at Del Mar in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup. Mike Smith rides the gelding.
Count Again will make his first start since finishing fourth in the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in May. Count Again won the Grade 2 Seabiscuit at Del Mar last fall.
“I think a mile and an eighth, on a course where he’s already won at, I think that will suit him just right,” D’Amato said.
Joe Bravo rides Count Again.