DEL MAR, Calif. – Man O Rose is the odds-on gift that keeps on giving. The 5-year-old gelding won his third consecutive stakes race on Saturday at Del Mar, where he cruised to a 1 1/2-length victory in the $100,500 The Chosen Vron Stakes for older horses bred in California. Bruce and Beverly Zietz own and bred Man O Rose ($3.60), who is trained by Jeff Mullins and ridden by Edwin Maldonado. The gelding’s win in the seven-furlong stakes was his 10th from 17 starts. Drop Um finished second, a half-length in front of 2-1 second choice Shea Brennan. The race was run with a new name on Saturday. Previously called the Cary Grant, the race was renamed this year for the recently retired Grade 1 winner The Chosen Vron.  After the Saturday stakes, Man O Rose’s trainer paid homage to The Chosen Vron, who won 19 races and more than $1.7 million from 25 starts. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “It’s kind of nice to have The Chosen Vron gone,” Mullins said. “I love that horse, but he was tough to beat.” Man O Rose also is tough to beat, and he was expected win Saturday against a field of older Cal-breds that was missing two prominent runners. Lovesick Blues and Big City Lights finished sixth and seventh, respectively, a week ago in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Man O Rose broke sharply in The Chosen Vron, and Maldonado allowed him to drift three-wide. “Edwin knows him, he’s had him in the middle of the racetrack before,” Mullins said. Wide is where Man O Rose likes to be. “He likes to be outside,” Mullins said. “If he’s inside, he gets a little weird.” Drop Um pressed the pace inside, and Clovisconnection joined the scrum into the turn. The opening quarter-mile was :22.32; the opening half-mile was :44.63. The raw times were fast over a Del Mar dirt track that played lightning fast Saturday. While pressing the pace three-wide, Maldonado stayed virtually motionless on Man O Rose. Nearing the quarter pole, Maldonado turned him loose. Man O Rose opened up by three lengths at the furlong pole and coasted home in 1:21.66. After the top three, the order of finish was Clovisconnection, Stamp My Passport, Style Cat and R Heisman. Man O Rose was the fourth straight favorite to win The Chosen Vron/Cary Grant. Favorites won seven of the 12 editions at Del Mar including 2022 and 2023, when it was won by The Chosen Vron. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.