Fionello (18-1) And Fresu Get Up Just In Time To Upset The Echo Eddie Stakes Presented By Daily Racing Form For California-Breds Going 6 ½ Furlongs At Santa Anita

__FIONELLO (18-1) AND FRESU GET UP JUST IN TIME TO UPSET THE ECHO EDDIE STAKES PRESENTED BY DAILY RACING FORM FOR CALIFORNIA-BREDS GOING 6 ½ FURLONGS AT SANTA ANITA __

ARCADIA, CA (April 4, 2026)—Fionello and jockey Antonio Fresu sprung an 18-1 upset Saturday at Santa Anita when rallying in the stretch and nailing second-choice Thirsty Rebel on the wire in the $125,000 Echo Eddie Stakes for 3-year-old California-breds going 6 ½ furlongs.

Fionello, trained and co-owned by Steve Knapp, found himself far back in last down the backstretch as Tommy Norris (11-1) went to the lead with Thirsty Rebel (8-5) and jockey Abel Lezcano tracking in second. Thirsty Rebel raced past Tommy Norris near the quarter pole and extended his advantage at the top of the stretch, looking poised to earn his first stakes victory for trainer Doug O’Neill. But oncoming from the back of the field was Fionello. Fionello was angled off the rail at the top of the stretch and gradually closed ground on Thirsty Rebel before getting up in the final jump to prevail by a nose.

Fionello won in a time of 1:16.70 following fractions of 22.05, 44.43 and 1:09.70. Thirsty Rebel was second by a neck over Galloping Ghost (5-1) with another 4 ¼ lengths back to Tommy Norris.

“I got to know him last time, that was a mile race. So today, at six and a half, I was expecting to be a bit slow into stride,” Fresu said. “He left the gate pretty well but he just didn’t have the speed to go with them. I tried to get him comfortable where he was on the rail and tried to save as much ground as I could. I tipped him out at the top of the lane. When he saw the daylight, he started running. He finished really hard. I could feel they were going fast and that was pretty good for me."

Knapp co-owns Fionello with breeder Terry Lovingier. In five previous stakes tries, all against statebreds, the gelding by Stay Thirsty had never finished in the top three.

“Two races ago he didn’t get out, and he didn’t get out of the gate today,” Knapp said. “He’s been training great and we’ve always felt he was going to be a late closing sprinter. He got the job done today. I think he’s going to be a really nice horse. He’ll keep improving.”

Fionello improved to 10: 2-1-1 with nearly $200,000 in earnings. He paid $39.80, $7.40 and $4.20. Thirsty Rebel returned $3.00 and $2.20. Galloping Ghost, ridden by Juan Hernandez for trainer Craig Lewis, paid $3.60.

ECHO EDDIE STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

ANTONIO FRESU, FIONELLO, WINNER: “I got to know him last time, that was a mile race. So today, at six and a half, I was expecting to be a bit slow into stride. He left the gate pretty well but he just didn’t have the speed to go with them. I tried to get him comfortable where he was on the rail, try to save as much ground as I could. I tipped him out at the top of the lane, when he saw the daylight he started running and he finished really hard. I could feel they were going fast and that was pretty good for me.”

TRAINER QUOTES

STEVE KNAPP, FIONELLO, WINNER: “Two races ago he didn’t get out, and he didn’t get out of the gate today. He’s been training great and we’ve always felt he was going to be a late closing sprinter. He got the job done today. I think he’s going to be a really nice horse. He’ll keep improving.”

NOTES: The winning owners are Steve R. Knapp, Terry C Lovingier, John Moroney, and Sandra Lee Grey.