Known for coming up a short in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and recently the San Rafael Stakes, Square Eddie will race on a dirt track for the first time at the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 16. He’ll take his (2-3-1 in seven starts) record to Oaklawn Park to get a taste of what running the Kentucky Derby might be like. Trainer Doug O’Neill has intended to run him on dirt at least once prior to the Derby to see how he fairs.
“Timing-wise, the race at Oaklawn would fit him perfectly,” O’Neill said. “We’ve said all along we wanted to get him on the dirt. This is a mile and it will be just fine. It’s a good place to try the dirt and get rolling.”
As a two-year-old he raced four times in Europe, scored a crushing victory in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland’s Polytrack in October in his U.S. debut., and then three weeks later he finished second in the Breeders’ Cup. Square Eddie has shown consistency but has tired late in his last two starts. Owner Paul Reddam felt the synthetic surface may have affected his horse.
“He was tired after that race,” Reddam said. “We’re anxious to try him on the dirt.”
The three-year-old son of six-time winner Smart Strike has a strong pedigree on both sides. He is out of Forty Gran, who ran 2-4-2 in 16 starts. She was sired by El Gran Senor, who went 7-1-0 in eight starts and earned over a half million in the early eighties.
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