Freedom’s Not Free nips Sumter in Grade 3 Daytona Stakes at Santa Anita

Freedom’s Not Free did not just steal the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes at Santa Anita, he rewrote the script of the Southern California turf sprint division in one last lunge. The Mark Glatt colt came off a long layoff, swept past 2-1 favorite Sumter on the downhill course and got his nose down at the wire in 1:12.49 for the $100,000 race at about 6 1/2 furlongs.

That finish mattered because Sumter had looked like the horse to beat. Mike Smith had already guided the 7-year-old War Front gelding to a nose victory in the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes in March and had said afterward that Sumter “loves that six and a half.” On Saturday, Sumter again traveled like a live one, took command in midstretch and seemed to have the race in hand before Freedom’s Not Free kept grinding through the lane and caught him in the final stride.

Juan Hernandez timed the run exactly right. Freedom’s Not Free broke well, settled where the barn wanted him and tracked the favorite before switching leads crossing the dirt. He was still seventh with a furlong to run, then launched the final surge that turned a narrow deficit into a nose victory. First Peace, another Glatt runner, checked in third in a race that drew 11 starters after scratches of The Old Nine and Zio Jo on firm turf at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

For bettors, the result was a reminder that the better late-spring line does not always hold up on the hillside. Sumter entered off a stakes win and nearly $590,000 in earnings, but Freedom’s Not Free had the sharper late kick when it counted most. He returned $12.20 and gave his connections a payoff that went beyond the purse: a graded stakes win in his first start since the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby in August and his first outing as a 4-year-old.

The victory was also the third stakes score of Freedom’s Not Free’s career, adding to his Cinema and Pasadena wins last year at Santa Anita over a mile on turf. By Omaha Beach out of Wonderfuladventure, he has now shown he can return from a long break and still fire a downhill turf race good enough to beat a proven closer like Sumter. For a partnership led by Blinkers On Racing Stable and Janlois Racing LLC, with Valinor Racing Stable, Tom Corbett, Andy Kwan and Jay Lester Wagner involved, that is exactly the kind of photo finish that changes how the rest of the division looks from here.