Bing Crosby a scramble with Hejazi, World Record among top choices
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DEL MAR, Calif. – An unsettled California sprint division could gain clarity Saturday at Del Mar, where shipper World Record and local Hejazi meet in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes.
World Record arrived from Kentucky this week to face a modest field in the six-furlong Bing Crosby, a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. To defeat Hejazi and stakes winners Dr. Venkman, Roll On Big Joe, and Crazy Mason, World Record will need a higher figure than the 86 Beyer Speed Figure he earned finishing second last out in a Grade 3 at Churchill Downs.
“It actually was a big effort for him, to hold on for second,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset said regarding World Record’s runner-up finish in the Aristides Stakes. “I don’t think we got the trip we were hoping for.”
\World Record dueled with odds-on Skelly through blistering fractions– 20.93 seconds and 43.61 – put away Skelly, and missed by a length. Notwithstanding his 13.44-second final furlong and corresponding low figure, World Record ran well. He must run better to win the Bing Crosby.
Although the local sprint division is shallow with the retirements of The Chosen Vron and Raging Torrent and uncertain status of 2024 BC Sprint winner Straight No Chaser, the Bing Crosby includes several with credentials. Crazy Mason is a Grade 2 winner from New York; Dr. Venkman and Roll on Big Joe are graded winners based in California.
World Record, possibly the speed of the speed, can run a decent figure. He earned a 100 Beyer winning an allowance in May at Churchill Downs; he earned 101 crushing the Grade 2 Amsterdam last year at Saratoga. Brisset also trains Grade 1-winning sprinter Mullikin, third in the BC Sprint last year at Del Mar and runner-up last weekend up in the Grade 2 Alfred Vanderbilt at Saratoga behind division leader Book’em Danno.
Brisset wanted to keep Mullikin and World Record apart.
“Mullikin has already run at Del Mar, we know he likes the track, we know it’s not an issue,” Brisset said. “World Record, we’re trying to win a Grade 1 and see if we can come back in the fall” for the BC Sprint.
Flavien Prat rides World Record from post 5; favoritism is likely to be World Record or Hejazi. Bing Crosby favorites are 3 for 10 since Del Mar reinstalled dirt. On the same flight this week as World Record, Brisset also shipped Royal Spa for the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch on Aug. 2.
Hejazi is a Bing Crosby pace factor. He finished second with a 99 Beyer in his allowance comeback, missing by a half-length in a race run in 1:08.87. Bob Baffert trains Hejazi, third in the American Pharoah Stakes as a 2-year-old in 2022 and runner-up in the Malibu Stakes in 2023. Hejazi’s style under Juan Hernandez? “I think he wants the lead,” Baffert said.
Baffert-trained Grade 1 sprint winner Speed Boat Beach is training for a comeback later this summer.
“We had to stop on him,” Baffert said. “He bled in the Churchill race, so we turned him out, gave him a little time. He’s doing really good.”
Dr. Venkman, winner of the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar last summer, returns home after finishing second in a Grade 3 at Churchill Downs.
“He should have won,” trainer Mark Glatt said. “The one-hole beat him. The horse doesn’t like it in there anyway, and he couldn’t get out” to establish position.
Dr. Venkman drew post 2 for the Bing Crosby while returning to the Del Mar track on which he has three wins from four starts. At six furlongs, Dr. Venkman and jockey Antonio Fresu will rally from behind.
Crazy Mason won the Grade 2 Carter in April at Aqueduct and finished third last out in the Grade 3 True North won by Book’em Danno.
“It was a sealed track, he was 14 lengths back, and got beat four lengths,” trainer Gregg Sacco said. “He ran a legit race; he ran out of ground. He’s been super-consistent for us all year.”
Jockey Christopher Elliott could position Crazy Mason closer to the lead than previous races.
“We want him within range because he’s going to make his run,” Sacco said.
Roll On Big Joe has won four of his last five starts, including a pair of Grade 3s, and should be forwardly placed under Julien Leparoux. Roll On Big Joe is trained by Bob Hess Jr.
Others in the field include Smooth Cruisein, Mbagnick, Spirit of Makena, and Lovesick Blues.
– additional reporting by David Grening
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