If you are familiar with Santa Anita's autumn meet, you know that the Eddie D. Stakes is part of the opening day festivities.

Named for one of Southern California's most talented and successful riders, the Eddie D. has been contested on the hillside turf for several seasons.

But once upon a time, the race did not go by the name of the Eddie D. Rather, it bore the moniker of a significant Cal-bred.

Longtime Southern Californians will remember the sprint being called the Morvich Handicap, named in honor of the first Cal-bred to win the Kentucky Derby way back in 1922. This perennial event first came to the racing landscape at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita in 1974, and each year allowed Morvich to be remembered as horses competed to win the race named for him.

From the Morvich's beginning until well into the twenty-first century, you would be hard pressed to find horses that captured it more than once. Only Impressive Luck (1977, 1978) and El Cielo (2000, 2001) were able to pull off the feat.

That is, until a horse named California Flag came along.

A son of Avenue of Flags, California Flag had not even tried Santa Anita's hillside turf course before entering the 2008 Morvich. What's more, the Morvich marked his graded stakes debut after beating allowance optional claiming company several weeks earlier at Del Mar. It seemed like a tall order, taking on a course that can prove tricky for some horses while making a big jump in class.

But California Flag was ready.

One of the biggest longshots in the field at 22-1, California Flag took control of the Morvich early under rider Joe Talamo. He never looked back as he secured the inside path in the stretch and won convincingly in his first stakes attempt. What's more, the hillside turf seemed to fit California Flag like a glove. The term horse-for-course can definitely apply to horses who can navigate that unique layout more than once, and California Flag would in time prove he was exactly that.

Back at Santa Anita in 2009, California Flag returned to the Morvich fresh off a victory in Del Mar's Green Flash Handicap after almost nine months away from the races. The majority of handicappers did not see the defending champion of the Morvich regressing off the Green Flash effort, making him the 8-5 favorite at post time. With Talamo aboard, California Flag quickly seized the lead while looking completely relaxed. He had plenty of run in him that day, as he set blazing fractions of 21.55 and 43.04 for the first half-mile. Ironically, he never looked like he was running that fast. Rather, he appeared to be just cruising along the hillside as he again took the inside route.

The margin was much smaller this time, but the gray/roan gelding held off the opposition to become the third horse to win the Morvich in back-to-back seasons before taking the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint on that same course next time out.

California Flag did not appear in the 2010 Morvich, which was held at Hollywood Park as Oak Tree moved across town that season. But he came back for the 2011 renewal at Santa Anita as the track began its own autumn meet. California Flag's results after the 2009 Morvich had been a mixed bag, which no doubt reflected his odds of almost 7-1.

Equipped with his white blinkers, the Brian Koriner trainee tracked the leaders in third place before getting second as he made the right-hand turn around the course. Traveling on the outside with Patrick Valenzuela in the irons, California Flag engaged in battle with Excessive Passion in a tremendous stretch run that captivated the attention of the fans watching on site. The cheers were loud, and California Flag fought on the outside as history waited for him at the wire.

After chasing splits that were similar to what he set in 2009, California Flag began digging for more in the closing seconds. He found that something extra, pulling ahead of Excessive Passion to become the first three-time winner of the Morvich. That cemented his status as a true great on the hillside turf, and it also made him the undisputed master of the Morvich. He owned the race.

It was fitting, too. Remember, Morvich was a Cal-bred. And so was California Flag. Only a horse born in California could engineer such an achievement, and the fact he had California in his name made it all the more special.

Although we now call the race the Eddie D. Stakes, we shall remember it when it carried the name of Morvich.

And California Flag stands as its master.