Subordination Wins Eddie Read Handicap

Every seven months or so, the New York trainer Gary Sciacca ships in to California with the hard-running grass horse Subordination. The hometown guys are starting to complain.

In what was a reprise for his win late last year in the Hollywood Derby, Subordination got away with some soft early fractions and finished strongly to beat Bonapartiste by one length Sunday in the $300,000 Eddie Read Handicap.

Sciacca will remember well his first trip to Del Mar.

“You folks out West have treated me nice twice,” Sciacca said. “I came here because this was a Grade I race, but my main reason was that I’d never been to Del Mar before.”

Covering his options, Sciacca also entered Subordination in Friday’s Bernard Baruch Handicap, a $125,000 race at Saratoga.

Had he known that Labeeb, the 3-2 post-time favorite in the Eddie Read, was going to be scratched after acting up in the gate, Sciacca would have shipped Subordination to Del Mar sooner.

Labeeb, whose acting-up days seemed to be behind him, unseated jockey Kent Desormeaux in the post parade before his problems at the gate. He completed a forgettable weekend for Neil Drysdale, who finished third with Hawksley Hill, his other horse in the Read, after his Fiji, at 2-5, ran third in Saturday’s $300,000 Ramona Handicap.

With Labeeb out of the race, the Eddie Read became a five-horse affair, with Hawksley Hill the high weight, at 120 pounds, and the even-money favorite.

Subordination, carrying 117 pounds, was ridden by David Flores for the first time. He paid $7.20 as the second choice, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:47 2/5, the same time that the filly See You Soon posted Saturday while winning the Ramona.

None of his rivals pressed Subordination as he clicked off lazy fractions of 24 3/5 and 48 3/5 seconds and 1:12 2/5. Expelled had a similar trip in winning the Read in front-running fashion last year.

Subordination earned $180,000 for his 10th win in 20 starts, sending his earnings over the $1-million mark. The 4-year-old colt is owned by Jeff Ravitch of Los Angeles and Seth Klarman of Boston.

“The race set up perfect for us,” Sciacca said. “I told [Flores] to break him sharp and get to the front. [Magellan] figured to show a little speed. I told [Flores] to slow it down as much as he could.”

After winning the Hollywood Derby on grass in late November, Subordination had won on both turf and dirt, and his last win came on a sloppy main track in the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park in June.

“This horse is so honest,” Sciacca said. “He runs in the slop, he runs on soft courses. He doesn’t need his track to win.”

Labeeb struck his head on the gate before he was scratched. According to a post-race report, he suffered a friction burn on one of his rear legs, but the injuries were not believed to be serious.

Hawksley Hill stumbled leaving the gate and cut one of his legs.

“I couldn’t get him to run the way he usually does after that,” jockey Gary Stevens said. “He normally is tugging on me pretty hard early, but he didn’t do that this time.”