United targets Del Mar Handicap, with eye on BC Turf

DEL MAR, Calif. - It was mission accomplished for United after the 6-year-old gelding won the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes on turf for the second consecutive year at Del Mar on Saturday.

Now comes the tricky part of trying to win the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 21 for the first time in an effort to gain a fees-paid berth for a possible third appearance in the Breeders’ Cup Turf here on Nov. 6.

United was second by a head at 51-1 to eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar in the 2019 BC Turf at Santa Anita, but was eighth at 8-1 in the 2020 BC Turf at Keeneland, fading from contention in the final three furlongs.

“Third time is the charm,” trainer Richard Mandella said Sunday.

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To get to the BC Turf, a win in the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf would be a major boost for United, the dominant turf distance runner in California the last few years. United won his sixth stakes of his career in the $251,000 Eddie Read Stakes for owners Larry, Nancy and Jaime Roth’s LNJ Foxwoods Stable.

Last year, United finished a head behind Red King in the Del Mar Handicap and rebounded to win the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita in late September prior to the BC Turf.

United has won two of three starts this year, beginning with a victory in the Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Santa Anita on March 20. But in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on May 29 United faded through the stretch to finish last of four. He was later diagnosed with an ailing foot.

“We found a little bruise under his shoe,” Mandella said. “I didn’t think it was a big deal, but maybe he thought it was more of a big deal than I did.”

In Saturday’s Eddie Read Stakes, United ($8.60) rallied wide under jockey Flavien Prat, steadily catching even-money favorite Smooth Like Strait to win by a neck. United is unlike many leading runners on turf in that he does not have a flashy kick through the stretch.

“He’s kind of a grinder,” Mandella said. “He came out of it very good.”

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Smooth Like Strait holds a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile through a win in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita on May 31. Despite the loss in the Eddie Read, trainer Michael McCarthy is confident Smooth Like Strait will play an important role in leading turf mile races in coming months.

“If he stays healthy, he has every opportunity to make a lot of noise,” McCarthy said.

Races such as the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Aug. 21 or the Grade 3 WinStar Mint Million at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 6, are possibilities, McCarthy said. The Mint Million is run at a mile on turf and has a purse of $1 million.