2025 Eddie Read Stakes Preview at Del Mar

Key Takeaways:

• Formidable Man is a Grade 1 winner at the distance, 4-for-4 at Del Mar, and gets high-percentage connections McCarthy and Rispoli.
• Atitlan has upside second off the layoff and stretches back out to a winning distance.
• Gold Phoenix brings top-level class but prefers longer trips; hard to trust at a short price here.
• Stay Hot is the only last-out winner but loses Lasix and meets deeper company than in Texas.
• Cabo Spirit and Balladeer add pace, but both are questionable at the trip and track.

The best turf horses in the west take center stage Sunday, July 27, at Del Mar in the Grade 2, $250,000 Eddie Read Stakes. A 1 ⅛-mile route on the turf, the event drew a field of eight, including Gold Phoenix, who won the race two years ago and is still holding his own among the best turf horses in the country at the age of seven.

Some of Gold Phoenix’s toughest foes include Kilroe Mile (G1) winner Formidable Man, Cabo Spirit, who has come close in a pair of top-level races this year, and Atitlan, who found a mile too short last time but gets more distance underneath him for this race. West coast turf races are always tightly contested and therefore strong betting opportunities, and this one will be no exception.

Eddie Read Stakes Information

• Race Date: Sunday, July 27
• Track: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
• Post Time: 6:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ⅛ miles on the turf
• Age/Sex: Three-year-olds and upward
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2025 Eddie Read Stakes Draw and Odds

This is the field for the Eddie Read at Del Mar, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each runner.

Eddie Read Stakes Prep Race Results

The eight runners in the Eddie Read come out of six different races. Three of them raced in the Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita on May 26. Cabo Spirit fared the best of that trio over that shorter distance, as he battled late and was third, but beaten only a neck by King of Gosford for the whole thing. Formidable Man rallied from the clouds to finish fourth as the favorite, while Atitlan was a belated fifth.

One other horse last raced at the top level. That is Gold Phoenix, who makes his first start since a hard-fought fourth behind Spirit of St Louis in the Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard.

Two others come out of graded-stakes races. Balnikhov, near the rear early in the Dinner Party (G3) on the Preakness Stakes undercard at Pimlico Race Course, rallied mildly late for sixth behind Fort Washington. Balladeer turns back in distance after finishing a flattening third, beaten 3 ¼ lengths by Nitti, in the 1 ¾-mile San Juan Capistrano (G3) at Santa Anita on June 15.

The only last-out winner in the field is the aptly named Stay Hot, who was last seen battling on the pace and holding by a length over Komorebino Omoide in the Texas Turf Classic at Lone Star on June 28. Dicey Mo Chara, the only horse coming out of a non-stakes race, was last seen finishing a flattening sixth in a 1 ⅛-mile allowance at Santa Anita on June 8.

Eddie Read Stakes Contenders

These are the eight contenders in the 2025 Eddie Read Stakes, in order of post position.

1. Dicey Mo Chara: This seven-year-old has been a fixture in graded-stakes races on the west coast for a few years, but has always been more of the type who grazes for underneath shares as opposed to actually winning the races. He can run a decent race from the inside, and he is versatile enough to run well from a forward spot or rallying from off the pace. The biggest concern is the distance—he has run some decent races, and even a couple of winning ones, over this trip, but he is more consistent (especially nowadays) over a longer trip than this.
2. Balnikhov: The last time he won was over a year ago, though that win did come at 1 ⅛ miles, the same distance as the Eddie Read, albeit over soft Pimlico ground, nothing like California firm. Of course, he is no stranger to California, as he has raced most of his career there. He has hit the board a few times since that, including a third in this race last year. The fact that he has hit the board in six of eight at Del Mar is promising for a share, though, as is the fact that he has been able to rally on his better days, whether the pace is modest or fast. In short, there’s an argument for him in lower rungs of exotics.
3. Atitlan: This four-year-old colt has perhaps the most upside of anyone in the field. Though the mile last out just proved too short, he was still only beaten by 1 ½ lengths for the whole thing. And, now, he stretches back out to 1 ⅛ miles—perhaps a little short of his best, even still, but a distance at which he won the Twilight Derby (G2) at Santa Anita last fall. He is versatile enough to run well from near the pace or significantly off of it, he gets regular jockey Hector Berrios back in the saddle, and his best puts him right in the picture.
4. Formidable Man: The removal of blinkers before the Kilroe (G1) has changed his running style – he often showed speed when he wore them, but in his last two, he has rallied from midpack or further back. With so much speed to the outside, not wearing blinkers should have him in the right place. The stretch out to one and one eighth miles is no worry, as he is a Grade 1 winner at the distance, and he is also perfect in four starts at Del Mar. Back on his favorite course for high-percentage connections (trainer Michael McCarthy and jockey Umberto Rispoli), he shapes as a major contender.
5. Gold Phoenix: The grand old man of the west coast turf division, he is the rare west coast turf horse who can hold his own against the tougher horses from elsewhere. He ran a strong fourth in the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day, and he has also run credible efforts in the last two editions of the Breeders’ Cup Turf. The biggest question, and the reason why it’s not a great idea to take him at a short price here, is distance. He has the class, but he tends to do better if he gets a trip more like 1 ⅜ miles or 1 ½ miles, not this 1 ⅛-mile distance.
6. Stay Hot: The lone last-out winner in the field, Stay Hot, posted a game forwardly-placed win in the Texas Turf Classic over this distance at Lone Star last out. He is a regular on the West Coast; however, he won the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) over this course at a mile as a juvenile, and picked up checks in close finishes in four graded-stakes races for sophomores late last year at both Del Mar and Santa Anita. The race in Texas was his first against older and he looked good, and based on his races out west, he does not need the lead. But be cautious, as this is still a deeper bunch, and he won’t get the Lasix that he was allowed to use in Texas, a non-HISA state.
7. Cabo Spirit: Stretching out from a mile in his last few starts—and showing plenty of speed at that shorter trip—means Cabo Spirit is likely part of the pace in this race. Even with Mike Smith in the irons, however, he’s a tough sell. He is drawn inside of more speed in Balladeer, his stablemate. He tends to do better at a mile than 1 ⅛. And, he tends to do his better work over at Santa Anita and not Del Mar.
8. Balladeer: Another runner from the George Papaprodromou barn, he is also another speed horse. He, perhaps oddly for such a long race, did not make the running in the 1 ¾-mile San Juan Capistrano last out. But, he has set the pace in most of his other races, and should go for that kind of trip this time around, with Abel Cedillo back in the irons and a clean outside post. However, he is hard to see as anything but a pace factor: he has never hit the board in six tries at Del Mar, and his races tend to be slow compared to those of his foes.

Eddie Read Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Eddie Read Stakes?

A: The Eddie Read Stakes happens Sunday, July 27, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time at Del Mar Racetrack. It is carded as the ninth of 11 races, with first post at 2:00 p.m. PDT.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Eddie Read Stakes?

A: The late, great Bobby Frankel has the most wins in the Eddie Read, with seven between 1977 and 1997. Among trainers with horses entered in the 2025 edition of the race, Phil D’Amato leads with four wins. His most recent came in 2023 with Gold Phoenix, and either Gold Phoenix or Balnikhov can make it five for D’Amato in 2025.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Eddie Read Stakes?

A: Formidable Man is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Eddie Read. He should hold as the choice through post time: he loves Del Mar, he is a Grade 1 winner at the distance, and he has pace versatility and high-percentage connections. Those connections used to be under the radar—but with Journalism this year, the betting public has figured out just how good Michael McCarthy and Umberto Rispoli are. However, take notice if the public instead gravitates toward the 3-1 second choice on the morning line, Gold Phoenix. He has less upside to improve than Formidable Man at this point in his career, but is more proven in these older-horse races.

Q: Who is the best Eddie Read Stakes jockey?

A: Retired Hall of Fame jockey Corey Nakatani leads all riders with five wins in the Eddie Read between 1994 and 2009. Among jockeys with horses in the 2025 edition, Mike Smith leads with two wins, in 2014 with Tom’s Tribute and 2015 with Gabriel Charles. He can win a third in 2025 with Cabo Spirit.

Q: Who won the Eddie Read Stakes in 2024?

A: Johannes won the Eddie Read for trainer Tim Yakteen and jockey Umberto Rispoli in 2024. Yakteen does not have a horse in the 2025 edition. Rispoli rides Formidable Man for trainer Michael McCarthy.

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