HOLLYWOOD PARK : Strodes Creek Returns Strongly With Swift Run

Charlie Whittingham didn’t mince words after Strodes Creek’s successful comeback in the $56,200 J.O. Tobin on Wednesday at Hollywood Park.

“I think he’s the best horse in the country today,” Whittingham said after the 3-year-old Halo colt rallied from last in his first race since finishing third in the Belmont Stakes on June 11.

After chasing Tabasco Cat and Go For Gin home in New York, Strodes Creek underwent surgery, then was bothered by a minor splint injury while preparing for his comeback.

Since returning to training, Strodes Creek had worked exceptionally well but wasn’t scheduled to start until the Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26, Santa Anita’s opening-day stakes, but Whittingham chose to run him in the J.O. Tobin. That race was supposed to mark the return of another talented 3-year-old. However, Wekiva Springs will make his comeback in Saturday’s $100,000 Vernon O. Underwood Breeders’ Cup Stakes.

Whether Strodes Creek is a match for Holy Bull remains to be seen, but he did what he was supposed to as the 7-10 favorite Wednesday.

Off a step slowly, which has been the norm for him, he trailed down the backside under Eddie Delahoussaye, moved up on the outside entering the stretch, then ran down 16-1 shot Subtle Trouble, who led by 2 1/2 lengths with an eighth of a mile to run.

Hit with the whip three times in midstretch, Strodes Creek won by nearly two lengths in 1:21 for the seven furlongs. The track record for the distance is 1:20 2/5.

“He had done everything right,” said Whittingham of the colt he owns in partnership with Arthur Hancock III and Rose Hill Stable. “The rest we gave him helped. He’s just learning.”

Strodes Creek could surface in the seven-furlong Malibu, but it seems more likely that the second leg of Santa Anita’s Strub Series, the 1 1/8-mile San Fernando Stakes on Jan. 14, will be his next start.