ARCADIA, Calif. (Dec. 28, 2013)–In only his third career start, Enterprising got a perfect ground saving trip under Gary Stevens en route to a three quarter length score in Saturday’s $75,000 Eddie Logan Stakes for 2-year-olds going one mile on turf at Santa Anita. A Glen Hill Farm homebred trained by Tom Proctor, Enterprising got the distance in 1:35.25 while notching his second win from three starts.

Drawn in post position two in a field of seven, Enterprising hugged the rail while attending the early pace which was set by Lucky Views and Joe Talamo, who broke from the rail. Stevens bided his time at the fence around the far turn and swung out leaving the quarter pole to overtake Royal Banker and Corey Nakatani close home.

“He had no clue what he was doing in the beginning,” said Stevens. “I told Tom he might be like that, but the ‘light’ turned on at about the eighth pole and he started sprinting. The transition from his first start to today…I’ve never had a horse turn the corner like that. I think something and he just does it. He’s got a great mind.

“He’s gonna have a good year, knock on wood!”

The second choice at 9-5, Enterprising, a Florida-bred colt by Elusive Quality, paid $5.60, $3.20 and $2.60. With the winner’s share of $47,100, Enterprising hiked his bankroll to $74,350. Enterprising, who broke his maiden going a mile on turf at Hollywood Park on Nov. 16, registered his second consecutive win.

The race, named for Santa Anita’s beloved shoeshine attendant Eddie Logan, who manned his work station from Santa Anita’s opening in 1934 until his passing at age 98 in 2009, carried special meaning for the winning connections.

“I’m tickled to win this, because Eddie Logan was special,” said Proctor, who along with his late father, trainer Willard Proctor, has been racing at Santa Anita for more than 40 years. “He was the best executive in racing. He knew more than most.”

Runner-up Royal Banker, the third choice at 3-1, broke from the outside post and cruised into contention entering the stretch under Nakatani.

“That’s a pretty nice colt that beat us,” said Nakatani. “If my colt keeps learning…he’s still real green right now. He ran a great second though…The pace didn’t develop like I thought it would, so it was much slower than I anticipated. If my horse had more speed to run at I think he would have done better.”

Royal Banker paid $3.60 and $2.80 and finished a neck in front of front-running Lucky Views, who was off at 15-1 and paid $4.80 to show.

Irish-bred Craftsman, ridden by Victor Espinoza, finished a non-threatening fifth as the 3-2 favorite.

Fractions on the race were 23.47, 48.05, 1:12.22 and 1:23.72.