Johannes © Benoit Photo

Nine turf specialists will do some lawn mowing at Del Mar Sunday in the day’s feature attraction – the 51st edition of the Eddie Read Stakes, a nine-furlong testing that carries Grade II status and a $250,000 purse.

Del Mar’s new morning line maker, the veteran handicapper Jeff Siegel, makes the race between the 4-year-old colt Johannes and the 6-year-old gelding Du Jour. The former has won five of his last six starts, including a smart score in the Shoemaker Mile last out at Santa Anita on May 27. Johannes was bred and is owned by an outfit that simply calls themselves Cuyathy and he’s listed as the 2-1 favorite in the Read.

Du Jour, who races in the silks of Jill Baffert and Debbie Lanni, has drawn a morning line assignment of 5/2 as he attempts to add to his six victories and $1,154,220 in earnings.

Adding a touch of drama to the scenario is that the two trainers know each other well: Johannes conditioner is Tim Yakteen, who for several years was the No. 1 assistant to Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the guy who calls the shots for Du Jour.

Also of note in the lineup is last year’s winner of the Eddie Read, Little Red Feather Racing and partners’ Gold Phoenix, an Irish-bred gelding who was three-quarters of a lengths best in the stakes last summer. Running second that afternoon was another Little Red Feather and partners’ horse in Balnikhov, who is back for a go in this year’s edition.

Further among the past connections is the fact that Iavarone, Zoumas or Argano, et al’s Master Piece, who captured the Eddie Read in 2022, is also in the 2024 running of the stakes.

The Read goes as Race 9 on the 11-race program. First post on the afternoon will be the usual 2 p.m. with the Read slated to go postward at approximately 6:30 p.m.