Stormy Liberal Wins Another Photo in Eddie D Stakes
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Stormy Liberal (outside) just gets past stablemate Conquest Tsunami to win the Eddie D Stakes
If there's a turf sprint in Southern California and Stormy Liberal is entered, good luck to everyone else.
It doesn't matter if the 6-year-old Stormy Atlantic gelding is going in a five-furlong dash at Del Mar or an about 6 1/2-furlong race down the hillside turf course at Santa Anita Park. If it's a sprint and it's on grass, odds are Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen's Stormy Liberal will be in contention late.
And if it's close, Stormy Liberal is going to get his head in front in a photo.
From his last 10 starts sprinting on the turf in Southern California—since trainer Peter Miller claimed the gelding for $40,000 in October 2016—Stormy Liberal has won eight, including another photo-finish victory in the $100,000 Eddie D Stakes (G3T) Sept. 28 at Santa Anita. Of those eight wins, six have been by a neck or less. The two times he was beaten, he finished second.
This time it was a head margin over Miller stablemate Conquest Tsunami. Stormy Liberal wore down his rival on the outside in the stretch and hit the wire under a confident ride from jockey Drayden Van Dyke, who also piloted the bay to back-to-back nose wins over the summer at Del Mar. The final time of 1:10.93 for about 6 1/2 furlongs was just two tenths of a second off the course record.
In the Eddie D, Stormy Liberal stalked his speedy stablemate in second as they headed down the hill, and the stretch run was a two-horse race to the wire. Caribou Club closed from eighth to finish third but was no threat to the top two.
"He knows where the wire is, for sure, but think he could've won by three (lengths)," Van Dyke said. "I thought I'd be a little farther back, but he broke like a rocket, so I was up close."
Conquest Tsunami, who set fractions of :21.58 and :42.79 through a half-mile, was the last horse to defeat the 2017 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) winner in a Southern California turf sprint back in February, when he won the Daytona Stakes (G3T) and bested Stormy Liberal by 2 1/2 lengths.
"Both horses ran great," Miller said. "When they crossed the dirt, I thought (Conquest Tsunami) might be gone. But Stormy—he's got so much heart. ... He just shows up."
Bred in Kentucky by Dapple Bloodstock and Gryphon Investments, out of the Royal Academy mare Vassar, Stormy Liberal now has an 11-8-1 record from 29 starts and $1,368,930 in earnings.