'Dream Trip': First Peace Storms Up Rail To Eddie D Triumph
First Peace, bet down to the 9-5 favorite, found a seam on the rail in deep stretch and slipped through to earn his first graded stakes win in Saturday’s $750,000 California Crown Eddie D Stakes presented by FanDuel (G2) on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course.
Ridden by Mike Smith, First Peace lagged near the back of the pack as the field descended the hill. Once the leaders passed the dirt crossing and reached mid-stretch, First Peace received his cue and responded with a late burst on the inside to score by 1? lengths.
Air Force Red, ridden by Juan Hernandez, was second, and King of Gosford and jockey Antonio Fresu checked in third.
“We got the dream trip,” Smith said. "I knew this horse didn’t want to go to the front. I warmed him up by himself, and I knew he was going to finish strong. He’s got some kind of turn of foot. He turned it on at the end.”
First Peace won in a final time of 1:11.56 following fractions of :21.64, :43.52, and 1:05.63.
“He runs every time. Last time (in Grade 2 Del Mar Mile) it was a little bit of a blip. We thought he would recover pretty well from that race. He loves the hillside course. Mike put a perfect trip on him, that’s why they call him ‘Big Money’ Mike,” said Glatt.
First Peace, who was 4-1 on the morning line, returned $5.80 for the victory. The 4-year-old colt by Funtastic out of the Point of Entry mare Peace Opportunity, is trained by Mark Glatt and owned by Rancho Temescal and Red Baron’s Barn. His two previous stakes wins came in the restricted Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar in July and last year’s black-type John Shear Stakes on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course. He is now 15: 5-5-2 with $778,520 in earnings.
First Peace was bred in Kentucky by Christopher L. Baker and Mullikin Thoroughbreds and was sold to Orr for $75,000 at the 2022 OBS June Two-Year-Old in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale, where he was consigned by Lucan Bloodstock.
CALIFORNIA CROWN EDDIE D QUOTES
JOCKEY QUOTES
MIKE SMITH, FIRST PEACE, WINNER: “We got the dream trip. I knew this horse didn’t want to go to the front. I warmed him up by himself and I knew he was going to finish strong. He’s got some kind of turn of foot. He turned it on at the end.”
JUAN HERNANDEZ, AIR FORCE RED, SECOND: “This horse ran really good today… the inside horse had a really nice trip, and we just got beat, but I liked the way my horse ran his race because sometimes when he behind other horses, he doesn’t want to pass them. But he showed up and we finished second so, I have no excuses for him today.”
FLAVIEN PRAT, BIG INVASION, FOURTH (FAVORITE): “Six and a half furlongs is just too far for my horse.”
TRAINER QUOTES
MARK GLATT, WINNER: “He runs every time. Last time it was a little bit of a blip and we thought he would recover pretty well from that race and he loves the hillside course. Mike put a perfect trip on him, that’s why they call him ‘Big Money’ Mike.”
OWNER QUOTES
TIM COHEN RANCHO TEMESCAL & RED BARON’S BARN, FIRST PEACE, WINNER: “I was like, ‘What’s he doing!? Okay! He is getting thru the rail.’ It was great. It was fantastic.”
RODNEY ORR, FIRST PEACE WINNER: “I was excited at the fact that he performed so well today and ran so strong. Mike had him right where he needed to be. It was a really good race and I’m really proud of him.”