MULTIPLE GRADED STAKES WINNING OM HEADS FIELD OF 11 IN OPENING DAY GRADE III, $100,000 EDDIE D. STAKES FRIDAY

By Mike Willman —-

MULTIPLE GRADED STAKES WINNING OM HEADS FIELD OF 11 IN OPENING DAY GRADE III, $100,000 EDDIE D. STAKES FRIDAY AT 6 ½ FURLONGS DOWN SANTA ANITA’S HILLSIDE TURF COURSE

CALIFORNIA-BRED TRIBALIST BIDS FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

ARCADIA, Calif. (Sept. 26, 2017)—Second, beaten a desperate nose in his lone hillside turf try, trainer Dan Hendricks’ Om heads a competitive field of 11 three year olds and up in Friday’s Grade III, $100,000 Eddie D. Stakes at Santa Anita.Most recently a close third in the Grade II Del Mar Mile (turf) Aug. 20, Om flew from last to just miss catching front-running Obviously four starts back in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 5, 2016.

Trained by Blake Heap, California-bred Tribalist, who exits an off-the-pace score in the five furlong turf Green Flash Handicap Aug. 18, will try graded stakes competition for the first time as he seeks his fifth consecutive win with regular rider Victor Espinoza.

With Friday serving as the opening day of Santa Anita’s 19-day Autumn Meet, the Eddie D., named for retired Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, will highlight a nine-race program with first post set at 1 p.m.

OM: Owned by Sareen Family Trust, Om, a 5-year-old full horse by Munnings, looms strictly the horse to beat in the Eddie D. on Friday and will be ridden for the first time by Drayden Van Dyke.Although winless since taking the Grade II Mathis Brothers Mile (turf) eight starts back on Dec. 26, 2015, Om has been a close second or third in seven of those eight races against solid graded competition.With four works to his credit since he last ran (three of them at Santa Anita), Om finished his Eddie D. preparations with a leisurely half mile in 49.60 here on Sunday. A solid 8-3-3-1 over the Santa Anita turf, Om is 18-5-5-5 overall with earnings of $892,845.

TRIBALIST: A 6-year-old California-bred gelding by Tribal Rule, out of the Cee’s Tizzy mare Ultimate Summer, he just missed in his only hillside try, a California-bred maiden special weight affair five starts back on June 28, 2014.Lightly raced, Tribalist will be making his seventh career start on Friday, which will be his second engagement this year. Bred by Robert Abrams and Mitchell Dutko, he’s owned by Abrams, Dutko and Michael Paran.With three of his four wins coming on turf, he’s 6-4-1-1 overall with earnings of $220,900.

THE GRADE III EDDIE D. WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 9 of 9 Approximate post time 5 p.m. PT

Prize Exhibit—Santiago Gonzalez—120
Tribalist—Victor Espinoza—121
California Diamond—Kent Desormeaux—118
Om—Drayden Van Dyke—121
Rocket Heat—Evin Roman—121
Forever Juanito—Joe Talamo—121
Guns Loaded—Rafael Bejarano—121
Coastline—Flavien Prat—121
Krsto Skye—Brice Blanc—121
Zarqa Star—Martin Pedroza—121
Mr. Roary—Tyler Conner–121

First post time for a nine-race card on Friday is at 1 p.m. Admission gates open at 11 a.m.

About Us
Santa Anita Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is North America’s premier supplier of virtual online horseracing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.