Creating
something of a mystery for bettors in Saturday's Grade I, $300,000 Eddie Read
is Crowded House, fresh from racing in Newmarket's
Group II Prince of Wales Stakes after wintering in Dubai, during which he ran unsuccessfully in
the Dubai World Cup March 27.
The
4-year-old son of Rainbow Quest is trained by Brian Meehan for owner J. Paul
Reddam. The colt arrived in the United States
on Sunday and vanned to Del Mar after
finishing quarantine at Hollywood
Park. Reddam bought the
colt after he broke his maiden at Newmarket in England in
2008.
After
finishing second to Donativum, who later won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Turf, Crowded House captured the Group I Racing Post Trophy.
"That
made him a winter favorite for the next year's [Epsom] Derby," Jamie
McCalmont, Reddam's racing manager, said Thursday morning at Ben Cecil's barn,
where Crowded House is stabled. He finished sixth in the Derby after what the Daily Racing Form chart
called being "badly hampered" during the race.
McCalmont
pointed out that although Crowded House is an English-bred, his pedigree
includes Chapel of Dreams as second dam and Terlingua as third dam, both
providing an American connection. Terlingua, a daughter of Secretariat who died
in 2008 at age 32, won the 1978 Del Mar Debutante and was the dam of super
stallion Storm Cat.
Though
Crowded House's career record shows only two victories, his earnings stand at
$712,400.
He'll
be tackling the ultra-consistent The Usual Q.T., trained by Jim Cassidy; Loup
Breton, an earner of $745,712 trained by Julio Canani; Acclamation, trained by
Donald Warren and also in Sunday's California Dreamin' Handicap; Enriched, a
half-brother to 2007 Pacific Classic champion Lava Man trained by Doug O'Neill;
Hyades, trained by Cecil, and Eoin Harty trainee Victor's Cry.
The
Read goes as the eighth race on the 10-race card.