Eddie Read Stakes

(Grade II)

FLAVIEN PRAT (Hunt, winner) – “I don’t know if this was my best ride today. He had been training so well and I know how he can finish. I thought he’d run well here. I moved up inside and thought they’d leave a hole for me. But it wasn’t happening there for a bit. I had to wait, but when we saw it (the hole) he was there. He finished strong.”

GARY STEVENS (Ashleyluvssugar, second) – “The (lack of) distance might have had something to do with it, but I just think it was a little too long between dances. He ran well and I thought I had the winner (Hunt) boxed up, but he got out. I had Santiago (Gonzalez on third-place finisher Mr. Roary) measured, but the winner got loose.”

SANTIAGO GONZALEZ (Mr. Roary, third) – “A good race for him. He tried hard. The winner was best today.”

PHIL D’AMATO (Hunt, winner) – “All along this was our plan, to use the American (mile at Santa Anita on July 4) as a prep race for this. He got in a little trouble in that race, through no one’s fault and I think the mile and an eighth and adding blinkers helped this horse’s focus. We’ll put our heads together and decide on whether to run him back in the Del Mar Mile or stretch him out in the Del Mar Handicap. One of the two.”

FRACTIONS: :24.12 :48.16 1:11.56 1:35.67 1:47.62

This was the first stakes victory of the meet for rider Prat, but his 11th at Del Mar. It was his initial score in the Eddie Read.

This was the second stakes victory of the meet for trainer D’Amato and his 15th at Del Mar. It is his second Eddie Read score (won it last year with Midnight Storm).

The winner is owned by Michael House of Rancho Santa Fe, CA.