First Peace came through a very narrow opening in upper stretch on his way to a sharp-looking victory in Saturday’s $750,000 California Crown Eddie D S. (G2) at Santa Anita Park.
This was the first graded stakes win for the 4-year-old son of Funtastic, who had scored previously in the Wickerr S. in July at Del Mar and the John Shear S. last year at Santa Anita.
The 6 ½-furlong Eddie D, was run on the same downhill turf course as the Shear. First Peace, in post two, settled back in eighth behind a quick quarter-mile in :21.64. After crossing the dirt track, First Peace was along the inside behind a wall of horses. When just a slight opening appeared, jockey Mike Smith urged his mount through and went on to win by 1 ½-lengths in 1:11.56 over the firm going.
“He [First Peace] runs every time,” said trainer Mark Glatt. “Last time [in GII Del Mar Mile] it was a little bit of a blip. We thought he would recover pretty well from that race. He loves the Hillside Course.”
First Peace is now 5-5-2 in 15 starts, including eight stakes placings, and has earned $778,520 for owners Rancho Temescal LLC, Red Baron’s Barn LLC and Rodney E. Orr. The gray/roan colt is Funtastic’s lifetime leading earner.
First Peace was bred by Christopher Baker and Mullikin Thoroughbreds and was the first foal to race out of Peace Opportunity, whose siblings include graded winners Tower of Texas and Street Sounds.
