The Chosen Vron to race at Del Mar, two weeks after Breeders Cup Sprint appearance
The appearance of The Chosen Vron in one of three stakes highlights the second weekend of Del Mar’s 10 fall meeting.
Racing just two weeks after placing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, The Chosen Vron is the early odds-on favorite to repeat in Saturday’s Cary Grant Stakes for older California-bred horses on the main track.
The Cary Grant is one of two $100,000, seven-furlong ungraded stakes on Saturday’s nine-race card. Also on tap is the Desi Arnaz for 2-year-old fillies. Sunday will feature the first of eight graded stakes of the fall meeting, the $100,000 Grade III Bob Hope for 2-year-olds.
Del Mar’s annual Turf Festival will begin on Thanksgiving with the Grade III Red Carpet Stakes. There will be eight graded stakes over the final two weekends culminating with the meeting’s two Grade Is – the Hollywood Derby on Dec. 2 and the Matriarch Stakes on Dec. 3.
The Chosen Vron was named the top sprinter of Del Mar’s summer meeting for winning the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes on July 29. That victory, the eighth straight for the five-year-old son of Vronsky, earned The Chosen Vron a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, where the gelding finished fifth in the field of eight.
But trainer Eric Kruljac believes The Chosen Vron is ready for the quick turn-around given the schedule. The Chosen Vron’s next opportunity in a Cal-bred race wasn’t until Jan. 7.
“I don’t think I’ve ever run a horse back in just two weeks,” said Kruljac. “He seems extra sharp now. He was just screaming for a race. The horse is really on his toes.”
Prior to winning the Bing Crosby, the first seven wins in The Chosen Vron’s winning streak under jockey Hector Berrios were in Cal-bred races, including the Cary Grant last year by 3 ¼ lengths over Big City Lights, who is the second-pick in the early line for the field of nine. Big City Lights ran second three times during The Chosen Vron’s winning streak
The Chosen Vron has two wins and a second in four previous starts at Del Mar. Big City Lights won the Real Good Deal at Del Mar last Aug. 5 and will again have Juan Hernandez up.
Saturday’s other feature has drawn five young fillies led by Royal Slipper. Trainer Wesley Ward shipped the daughter of Uncle Mo west from Keeneland, where she won her debut on Oct. 6 under Johnny Velazquez, who will be back aboard.
Trainer Bob Baffert will have two fillies in the race in Nothing Like You (Juan Hernandez) and Halone (Flavien Prat). Antonio Fresu will be aboard the Peter Eurton-trained Tambo, who finished fourth in the Juvenile Fillies Turf Sept. 9 at Del Mar after scoring her first win here on July 28.
Fort Bragg ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:14.60 under Juan Hernandez to easily win Friday’s four-horse feature. The Baffert-trained, 3-year-old son of Tapit came within one second of the track record while prepping for the Grade I Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita.
Prat scored two straight wins in the third (La Paloma Blanca, $4.60) and fourth (Katerini, $6.00) races Friday and missed three straight when Fresu’s Mixto ($6.00) caught Prat’s favored Bad Sneakers at the wire in the fifth race. Katerini and Mixto were both trained by Doug O’Neill.
Fresu then won the finale with long shot Silent Heat ($38.60) for his second win. Silent Heat’s victory in the eighth race boosted the payout in the Pick Six to $8,185.
Other Friday winners — First race: Vulin (Tyler Baze, $3.00); Second race: Man O Rose (Edwin Maldonado, $3.20); Sixth race: Immelman (Kyle Frey, $9.40).
