Ann Arbor Eddie Prevails in King Glorious

Doug O'Neill was so surprised by Mario Gutierrez's response Dec. 18 at Los Alamitos Race Course, he had to ask him again.

"Really, you weren't worried at all?" the trainer asked the jockey, after Ann Arbor Eddie's game win over heavily favored California Diamond in the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes.

Gutierrez wasn't worried, he said, despite taking pressure from California Diamond nearly every step of the way in the mile stakes race for California-bred 2-year-olds. He knew what he had under him and the son of Square Eddie delivered as he pulled away late to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

"Two words—Square Eddie," O'Neill said of the sire, who got his 10th stakes winner when Ann Arbor Eddie crossed the wire first Sunday. "They're unbelievable. They've got so much heart to them and they've got speed and stamina."

Breaking from the inside post, Ann Arbor Eddie got out of the gate well with California Diamond and the pair didn't separate much the rest of the way. California Diamond, on the outside, had a head in front after the first quarter in :24.53 and a half in :47.68. Ann Arbor Eddie went a half-length up through six furlongs in 1:11.25, but with a furlong to run, California Diamond put a head in front again before his rival kicked away late.

"Mario was going to play off whatever (California Diamond's jockey) Kent (Desormeaux) did, because we knew he was the obvious horse to beat," O'Neill said. "We were inside of him, so we figured he'd probably use us as a target. They were head-and-head all the way around there, right? ... It was a horse race all the way around there, so it was very impressive."

Fellow O'Neill trainee Milton Freewater loomed with a closing bid on the inside of the top two, but came in three-quarters of a length behind California Diamond. Hot Smoke and Calli Way completed the order of finish.

"He gave me a good kick going into the last turn and then responded when I asked him in the stretch," Gutierrez said. "He was waiting a little bit on (California Diamond), but he wouldn’t let him by."

A race prior, Ann Arbor Eddie finished third behind California Diamond (second) in the Bob Hope (gr. III), but the King Glorious was the first try at two-turns for both. Ann Arbor Eddie won his debut Oct. 29 at Santa Anita Park, where he defeated a maiden special weight group of state-breds by 4 1/4 lengths at 6 1/2 furlongs.

So where does Ann Arbor Eddie stand going forward in the O'Neill barn? His next step could be the $250,000 California Cup Derby for state-breds Jan. 28 at Santa Anita. As far as his ceiling, though, O'Neill is still somewhat unsure.

"I don't know. I mean, you look at Ralis, though it was during his 2-year-old season when he won the Hopeful (gr. I), but these Square Eddies—they show time in and time out that they can hang with open company," O'Neill said. "We'll just have to see. This is his third race, all three have been really solid, and he's a good-sized horse."