Big City Lights stretches speed a mile in E.B. Johnston Stakes

Each of the top three runners in the $75,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes has something prove Saturday at Los Alamitos.

Undefeated sprinter Big City Lights must stretch his speed two turns, horse-for-course stakes winner Desmond Doss needs to improve off his next-to-last comeback finish, and The Chosen Vron has not won since last fall.

A field of six California-breds race one mile in the E.B. Johnston, and there is little doubt how the stakes will unfold – Big City Lights setting the pace.

“He is fast,” trainer Richard Mandella said.

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But how far can he run? Big City Lights has scored front-running victories in sprints in all three of his starts, including a recent comeback in the Real Good Deal Stakes for Cal-bred 3-year-olds. The race was validated when runner-up Slow Down Andy returned to win the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby.

William Peeples owns Big City Lights, who began his career for trainer Luis Mendez and won his first two starts by a combined margin of nearly 20 lengths. A knee chip ended his 2-year-old campaign, and he was transferred to Mandella prior to his comeback.

Juan Hernandez rides Big City Lights, a Mr. Big colt trying to replicate the sprint-to-route pattern of the last three E.B. Johnston winners. The race was won in 2019 by 3-year-old Oliver, who was facing older stakes horses following a decisive Del Mar sprint win. Big City Lights enters with a similar pattern.

While sprinter Big City Lights is the speed of the field, The Chosen Vron is the class. A two-time graded winner, he makes his third start following an extended layoff while dropping from a creditable fifth in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes.

Eric Kruljac trains The Chosen Vron, a 4-year-old gelding by Vronsky who began his career winning four of his first five, including a pair of Grade 3 races for 3-year-olds. After a comeback victory in fall 2021, he was sidelined with osteochondritis dissecans, a disease that affects joints. The Chosen Vron underwent a procedure to remove lesions, and returned this summer with two promising efforts, albeit losses.

Third with a troubled trip in in a Cal-bred turf stakes, The Chosen Vron finished fifth last out in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien while earning a career-high 96 Beyer, tops in the Saturday field. The Chosen Vron worked a fast half-mile over the Los Alamitos track this week in 46.60 and is poised for a top effort third start back under Hector Berrios.

The Chosen Vron has won five races and $363,678 from nine starts.

“I’d like to keep him around as long as I can and keep him in these Cal-bred races,” Kruljac said.

Desmond Doss has won 7 of 20, including two Cal-bred stakes wins at Los Alamitos. Trained by Steve Miyadi, Desmond Doss stretches out following a sixth-place finish in a comeback sprint at Del Mar. Drayden Van Dyke rides Desmond Doss.

The others in the field are Crash Corrigan, Appreciated, and Luvluv.