Dr. Schivel to take on elders in Bing Crosby

The fastest 2-year-old at Del Mar last summer will try to make history this summer – Dr. Schivel would be the first horse to win both of the track’s prestigious Grade 1 sprints, the Del Mar Futurity and Bing Crosby Stakes for older.

Dr. Schivel will aim to the Bing Crosby on July 31, a race won by stablemate Collusion Illusion last year.

“I don’t know if [Collusion Illusion] is quite ready,” for the Bing Crosby, trainer Mark Glatt said after he worked five furlongs in 1:02 on Thursday at Santa Anita. Collusion Illusion has not raced since finishing third in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26, but he hasn't been ruled out of the Bing Crosby.

Meanwhile, Dr. Schivel is racing-fit, having scored a 97-Beyer Speed Figure victory in his allowance comeback June 18 at Santa Anita. It was his first start since he won the 2020 Futurity for trainer Luis Mendez. Dr. Schivel was purchased privately by Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal prior to the Futurity.

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The allowance win by Dr. Schivel was his third win from five starts, after which his connections weighed the pros and cons of facing older rivals in the Bing Crosby or shipping to Saratoga for the Grade 2 Amsterdam on Aug. 1 or the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on Aug. 28. Both races are restricted to 3-year-olds.

“We realize we’re running against older horses” in the Bing Crosby, Glatt said. “But it’s a track he loves, and he doesn’t have to ship. Depending on how he runs, we have to think about the second one [Jerkens] at Saratoga.”

The Bing Crosby, won by 3-year-olds three of the past 12 years, is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Locally based Brickyard Ride also is aiming for the Bing Crosby; C Z Rocket’s status is unconfirmed.