United will target Eddie Read at Del Mar

United, who has emerged as the leading distance turf runner in California this year, is likely to start in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on July 19.

Trainer Richard Mandella had considered sending United to the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Keeneland on July 12, but said the $200,000 Read is a more attractive option.

“It might be too short, but he’s an old pro and I think he can figure it out,” Mandella said. “It seemed like he needed a mile and a half to get it together before. I think we can sharpen him up.”

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Owned by Larry, Nancy, and Jaime Roth’s LNJ Foxwoods stable, United won the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on May 23 for his second consecutive stakes win. Last November, United was second by a head at 51-1 to eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles at Santa Anita.

The Mandella-trained Kanderel won the $75,000 Alcatraz Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on turf at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday in a prep for the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar on July 10, the track’s opening day.