Big Runnuer Uncatchable in Eddie D Stakes
Image:
Description:
Photo: Benoit Photo
Big Runnuer leads throughout in the Eddie D Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Fresh and fit after being away since winning the Siren Lure Stakes June 21, Big Runnuer shot to the lead in the $201,000 Eddie D Stakes (G2T) Sept. 25 at Santa Anita Park and kept Wildman Jack at bay by a length.
The victory was his third straight in as many 2020 starts for the speedy son of Stormy Atlantic who carved out splits of :21.96 and :43.98 en route to finishing 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:01.15 on a firm turf course. He paid $5 after bet down to favoritism.
Grade 3 winner Wildman Jack rallied from sixth down the stretch to grab second, though his charge came too late to pose a danger to Big Runnuer. He was 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Grit and Curiosity in third.
Sparky Ville, El Tigre Terrible, Give Me the Lute, and Mr Vargas rounded out the order of finish.
Victor Garcia trains Big Runnuer for his father, Juan, who purchased him for $95,000 from the Burleson Farms consignment at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
Victor Garcia said he felt good about his trainee after seeing him leave the gate quickly under Juan Hernandez, something the horse has not always done.
"This time he broke sharp and he took the lead so easy. I saw the first fraction in :21, almost :22, I said, 'Well, that's not too fast,'" he said in a post-race interview.
Hernandez didn't anticipate being on the early lead.
"It looked like we had some speed inside of us, so I thought we’d stay where we were and stay comfortable," he said. "But he broke sharp and when we cleared them and got to the rail, it was over. I asked him to change leads and it was no problem. He’s a nice horse.”
The 5-year-old improved his record to 4-1-2 from seven starts and elevated his earnings to $253,660.
Jockey Juan Hernandez guides Big Runnuer to the winner's circle after their victory in the Eddie D
"I think when I put the blinkers on him, it made him more focused on the races," Garcia said of an equipment change made this year.
Big Runnuer is the first stakes winner of two foals to race from his winning Elusive Quality dam Elusive Luci. She is a half to 2015 Matriarch Stakes (G1T) winner Stormy Lucy, also by Stormy Atlantic.
The Eddie D, named in honor of retired Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, was one of two graded stakes on opening day of the autumn meet at Santa Anita.
Friday's race did not appear on paper to be a vintage renewal, but historically the race has had an impact on the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T). The 2018 Eddie D victor, Stormy Liberal, was the most recent Turf Sprint follow-up winner during a season in which he was won an Eclipse Award as North America's outstanding turf male.