Sorrento Sky the clear leader of the division with Eddie D win

ARCADIA, Calif. − Sorrento Sky confirmed his status as California’s leading turf sprinter with a second consecutive win in the Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Sorrento Sky won the Grade 2 Green Flash Handicap at Del Mar on Aug. 22, earning a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

The $240,000 Sorrento Sky earned from the two wins will help finance a potential $200,000 supplemental fee to make the 5-year-old gelding eligible to the Breeders’ Cup series for the remainder of his career. Sorrento Sky was not nominated as a foal.

Trainer Phil D’Amato said the Breeders’ Cup supplemental fee was the subject of immediate discussion between the owners of Sorrento Sky in the minutes after the Eddie D Stakes, but nothing had been finalized.

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“We’ll take it all way up to payment day,” D’Amato wrote in a text message.

The fee must be paid by Oct. 19, the day pre-entries are due for the Breeders’ Cup.

In the $201,000 Eddie D Stakes, Sorrento Sky closed from sixth of seven midway through the race to win by a length. He paid $6.20 as the favorite.

Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, Sorrento Sky closed steadily through the stretch. He trailed pacesetter Amorita by slightly more than two lengths with a furlong remaining.

“He made a nice run through the stretch,” Rispoli said.

Sorrento Sky ran about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course in 1:12.30.

Sorrento Sky was gelded in early summer. He has since finished third in an allowance race at Del Mar on July 19, and won the two stakes.

“Gelding him has made such a difference,” Rispoli said.

Rispoli said Sorrento Sky is more focused since he was gelded.

“He gave me a quarter-mile kick,” Rispoli said. “Before it was a sixteenth and he’d flatten out.”

Sumter, who beat Sorrento Sky in the allowance race on July 19, closed from fifth to finish second at 3-1, a neck in front of 11-1 Amorita. Sumter and Amorita are trained by Richard Mandella.

Later Than Planned finished fourth, followed by Nesso’s Lasthurrah, First Peace and Pure Madness. Freedom’s Not Free and Virat were scratched by trainers Mark Glatt and Dan Blacker earlier on Saturday.

Amorita set an early pace of 21.99 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, and 43.76 for a half-mile.

Sorrento Sky has won 6 of 22 starts and earned $542,918.

An Irish-bred gelding by the Kodiac stallion Prince of Lir, Sorrento Sky races for the partnership of Sandra Benowitz, John Rochfort, Ian McLean, Saul Gevertz, Marc Lantzman and Michael Nentwig.

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