Miller giving C Z Rocket Lasix-free test run in Bing Crosby
DEL MAR, Calif. – C Z Rocket has raced 26 times, nine since being claimed by trainer Peter Miller, every one of those with Lasix. Being able to use that medication is what prompted Miller to campaign C Z Rocket earlier this year at Oaklawn and Lone Star, but with the Breeders’ Cup here at Del Mar in November, and with a full dress rehearsal on Saturday in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby, it’s time to find out just how C Z Rocket will do without the medication.
The six-furlong Crosby, which carries a $300,000 purse, is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, a race in which C Z Rocket finished second last year at Keeneland to champion Whitmore. Last year you could use Lasix at the Breeders’ Cup, but not this year.
C Z Rocket has won both his starts sprinting this year, beating Whitmore both times, with his only loss in three tries coming when he went a mile at Lone Star last time out. On Saturday, he returns to a sprint, and to a track at which he won the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien last summer. He gets a favorable pace scenario, too. Lasix is the wild card.
“Obviously I’m disappointed that the country is going this way. I find it inhumane, personally,” Miller said Thursday morning. “He hasn’t bled in a long time. Now’s the time to see how he’ll do. This is a preview for the Breeders’ Cup. It’s a good spot to try. I hate to have to do it, especially when you can protect and prevent a horse from bleeding. But we’ve got to play the cards we’re dealt.”
The Crosby – race 10 of 11 – lured nine entrants, including last year’s race winner, Collusion Illusion, who will be making his belated 2021 debut as one of at least two and possibly three starters for trainer Mark Glatt.
The wickedly fast Brickyard Ride looms the one to catch, and he drew well, landing the outside post. But he figures to have company from the swift 3-year-old Quick Tempo, who arrives off a terrific performance against elders at Prairie Meadows in the Iowa Sprint. Vertical Threat, fresh for his first try since November, adds pace. Shooters Shoot comes off a fine runner-up effort in the Triple Bend at Santa Anita, a race in which Saturday rival Eight Rings was fourth as the favorite.
C Z Rocket is the deserving favorite. He has seven wins and two seconds in nine tries for Miller, and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 101 in his most-recent sprint, the Count Fleet at Oaklawn. A late-running sprinter, he needs pace, and pace he’ll get.
Brickyard Ride – never headed through the opening half of his last five starts – comes off a front-running victory against California-breds in the Thor’s Echo, in which he got a career-best Beyer of 104.
“He’s really doing well,” said his trainer, Craig Lewis. “I’m afraid Quick Tempo might compromise us, but I didn’t expect them to give it to us. We’re going. We’re going to the dance with what got us here.”
The appropriately named Quick Tempo, drawn inside of Brickyard Ride, has run his opening quarter in 21.73 seconds or faster in all six of his starts. The early pace figures to be white hot.
Besides helping C Z Rocket, the early fractions should suit Collusion Illusion, who also makes his presence felt late. This will be his first start since Dec. 26, when third in the Grade 1 Malibu.
“It’s always tough to come off a layoff against horses like this, but he does run well fresh,” Glatt said. “The most important factor with him is to not get dirt in his face. He’s compromised being inside. We got a decent draw, so he should stay clear of the kickback.”
Glatt has another serious contender in Dr. Schivel, last year’s Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity winner, who showed he had made the transition from 2 to 3 with a sharp comeback win at Santa Anita last month, earning a career-best Beyer of 97. His stalk-and-pounce style should play well based on the expected race shape.
Glatt said his third entrant, Law Abidin Citizen, was not certain to start.
“We’ll take a close look and make a decision,” he said Thursday.
Law Abidin Citizen was third in this race last year, and most recently won the Oak Tree Sprint at Pleasanton, earning a Beyer of 90.
Vertical Threat, like Collusion Illusion, is making his first start of the year following a lengthy layoff.
“It’s an ambitious spot,” conceded his trainer, Richard Baltas. “We were trying to get a race into him before this, but they didn’t go. That said, I’m pretty happy with how he’s doing. He’s fresh, he’s had time, and he’s training great.”