DEL MAR, Calif. – Last September, Collusion Illusion had trainer Mark Glatt stumped. After winning the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes for sprinters in his stakes debut at the Del Mar summer meeting, Collusion Illusion was pulled up after fading rapidly on the backstretch in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita. Collusion Illusion was walked back to Glatt’s barn, leaving questions surrounding his performance. Gone was the idea of a start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November at Santa Anita, replaced by a puzzling loss and a plan to give the colt a break over the winter. “You’re thinking, did I miss something? Is the horse okay?” Glatt recalled over the weekend. “The horse was all right it turned out. We don’t know what happened. :: Play Del Mar with DRF! Visit our Del Mar shop for DRF PPs, Picks, Betting Strategies, and Clocker Reports “He wasn’t 100 percent out of the race mentally. I thought, let’s put him away and give him a chance to grow up and everything.” The colt is more than all right, in fact. Collusion Illusion is unbeaten in three starts this year, including the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes for sprinters last Saturday at Del Mar. Collusion Illusion earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 7 at Keeneland with the win and gave the 47-year-old Glatt his first victory in a Grade 1. How Collusion Illusion will be prepared for the BC Sprint is uncertain. Glatt said Sunday that a prep race is likely in early October, pending the release of a stakes schedule at Santa Anita and consultation with owners Dan Agnew, Rodney Orr, Jerry Schneider, and John Xitco. “I’m inclined to run him once more in between,” Glatt said. “Maybe a month out from the Breeders’ Cup.” The progress Collusion Illusion has made in recent starts suggests there is potential for greater improvement. Collusion Illusion won his 2020 debut in a second-level allowance race against older horses at six furlongs at Santa Anita in May, a comeback delayed when racing was halted for seven weeks in the spring because of the coronavirus outbreak. :: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more Collusion Illusion was the easy winner of the Grade 3 Lazaro Barrera Stakes for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs on June 20 at Santa Anita, which led to the Bing Crosby, where the colt was the 9-5 favorite in a field of eight. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Collusion Illusion was seventh on the backstretch, racing behind a line of six runners dueling for the lead. Collusion Illusion was closer on the turn. Prat moved Collusion Illusion toward the rail in the final furlong and won by a nose over Lexitonian, who closed from last with a wide rally. Prat walked back to the jockeys’ room covered in dirt. The Bing Crosby showed Glatt that Collusion Illusion can handle racing behind horses in a top-class stakes. The colt was the only 3-year-old in the Bing Crosby and is now on schedule for a start in the nation’s most prestigious sprint. The American Pharoah loss now seems like a long time ago. “In most of his races, he hasn’t had to take a lot of dirt,” Glatt said. “He had to take dirt and ran through the dirt pelting him. It’s good that he passed that test and took a lot of kick back. “I don’t think he saw that horse on the outside. I think he won easier than the margin indicated, but I’m biased.”