From Santa Anita Publicity
ARCADIA, Calif. (Oct. 1, 2021)–Celebrated by racing fans nationwide, racing returned to Santa Anita’s Camino Real hillside turf course on Friday as California-bred Lieutenant Dan pressed the pace and took control turning for home en route to a half-length victory in the $200,000 Grade II Eddie D Stakes. Ridden by Geovanni Franco, “Dan” got about 6 ½ furlongs down the hill in 1:11.74.
Owned and bred by Nick Alexander, Lieutenant Dan sat a close third early to pacesetter Charmaine’s Mia, who was pressed to her immediate outside by Law Abidin Citizen. Hand-ridden over the dirt crossing at the top of the stretch, Lieutenant Dan cruised to the lead and was never seriously challenged through the lane.
After the race, Alexander said Lieutenant Dan would be supplemented to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
“He earned the amount to (supplement) it is $100,000, if he comes out of this race in one piece, that’s our next goal,” Alexander said. ““I love that turf course. We have always excelled on it and Grazen babies just seem to love that distance and that downhill. It is so beautiful.”
Lieutenant Dan has eight wins in 16 starts and earnings of $663,740.
Off as the 5-2 favorite in a field of nine three-year-olds and up, Lieutenant Dan, who notched his third consecutive victory today, paid $7.00, $3.80 and $3.20.
“He’s a pretty fast horse and he’s very versatile,” said Franco. “He broke sharp like he always does and put me in a nice spot where if they were going too slow, I could have gone and if they were going too fast, I could have sat back. All in all, he was the one taking me through the trip. At the end of the race he kept on going. I heard some noises of people coming but he never slowed down or waited for anybody.
“It was a great feeling to ride the hill again, it is definitely different than any other race or surface. You have a lot of fun out there, especially when you have a horse like this one.”
Highly accomplished Snapper Sinclair, who shipped in from Churchill Downs for Steve Asmussen, kept to his task from off the pace and finished second in a solid effort, finishing a neck in front of the Bob Hess, Jr. Chaos Theory. Off as the 7-2 second choice, he paid $4.40 and $3.20.
Ridden by Kent Desormeaux, Chaos Theory was off at 36-1 and paid $10.80 to show while finishing a half length better than a late closing Gregorian Chant.
Fractions on the race were 21.61, 42.95 and 1:05.66.
The Eddie D is named for legendary retired Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye.