Jockey Flores May Have a Read on the Field

Two things surprised trainer Julio Canani entering Sunday’s $400,000 Eddie Read Handicap. Canani didn’t expect his Bayamo to be carrying the co-high weight in the 1 1/8-mile grass race, and he didn’t think jockey David Flores would pick Bayamo to ride.

Flores, after all, won last year’s Eddie Read in stakes-record time with Special Ring, another Canani trainee who’ll be part of the 10-horse field. But Special Ring, sidelined with a knee injury after finishing eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile in October, will be making his first start in nine months. Bayamo, a 2003 French import who has also raced sparingly, was moved into stakes company at Hollywood Park this year and responded with two sharp outings -- a second to Sabiango in the Charlie Whittingham Handicap and a 4 1/2-length victory over Sarafan in the American Handicap.

Sarafan, winner of the 2002 Eddie Read, also is running Sunday. This is the field, in post-position order: Sweet Return, Sarafan, Just Wonder, King Of Happiness, Vangelis, Cayoke, Bayamo, Mr. Livingston, Special Ring and Green Line. Bayamo and Sweet Return will each carry 119 pounds, a pound more than Special Ring, who won under Flores with 117 last year.

The Read, named after Del Mar’s late public-relations director, was first run in 1974 and has produced two double winners -- Wickerr, who was first in 1981-82, and Fastness, who won in 1995-96.

Flores’ decision to ride Bayamo -- he has had three victories and a second in four tries aboard the 5-year-old Irish-bred gelding -- opened the mount on Special Ring for Victor Espinoza, who rode Sweet Return to fifth as the favorite in the Bill Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park on May 31. Jerry Bailey will be in from Belmont Park to ride Sweet Return and handle Attack Alert in Sunday’s $250,000 Bing Crosby Handicap.

Beau’s Town and Disturbingthepeace will try to win the Crosby for the second time. The six-furlong Crosby, elevated to a Grade I, drew 11 sprinters: Rojo Toro, Revello, Attack Alert, Beau’s Town, Disturbingthepeace, Glick, Kela, Pohave, Court’s In Session, Green Team and Hombre Rapido. Beau’s Town, with Alex Solis riding, was assigned high weight of 119 pounds, spotting the others between one and 11 pounds. Last year, Beau’s Town carried the same weight, winning in a brilliant 1:07 4/5.

The Read and the Crosby are the windup to a triple Grade I weekend here. In today’s John C. Mabee Handicap, formerly the Ramona Handicap, Light Jig and Moscow Burning, who ran 1-2, separated by a length, in the Beverly Hills Handicap, will face five rivals.

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Alex Solis, the country’s leading jockey with about $11.5 million in purses, took off the rest of his mounts Friday night after suffering apparent minor injuries in a third-race spill. Solis went to a nearby hospital for precautionary X-rays.

Northern California kingpin and Hall of Famer Russell Baze picked up his 15th Del Mar stakes victory -- but his first since 1995 -- when he rode favored Sterling Cat to victory Friday night in the $125,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Assn. Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.