Del Mar | Horse Racing Free Tips

Glatt Goes Big Gunning For Back-To-Back Bings

Mark Glatt saddled Collusion Illusion and Law Abidin Citizen for the 2020 edition of the Bing Crosby Stakes and was rewarded with a 1-3 finish that provided him the first Grade 1 victory of his 16-year career as a Thoroughbred trainer.

And the resultant victory celebration was, as Glatt mildly puts it: “Kind of subdued, with no one around.

“We couldn't go out to dinner or anything, there weren't many restaurants even open, and we had to wake up early the next day.”

Blame COVID which, although racing went on, precluded crowds, winner's circle presentations or even close-contact celebrations by the connections of the victorious horses. So Glatt was relegated to socially distanced media interviews and loosely-posed pictures with family members and stable employees.

Not that it mattered all that much.

“A Grade 1 is a Grade 1, no matter where (or under what circumstances), you win,” Glatt said.

On Saturday, Glatt will be back for another Bing Crosby seeking the second Grade 1 score of his career. He entered the same two horses, Collusion Illusion and Law Abidin Citizen, from 2020 and one more, 3-year-old Dr. Schivel, to boot.

Late in the week he was still giving all three consideration. But Glatt indicated the most likely scenario would be that Collusion Illusion and Dr. Schivel would start and Law Abidin Citizen would be held out for another assignment.

Collusion Illusion and Law Abidin Citizen are both sons of Twirling Candy that Glatt picked out for clients from Kentucky sales.

“I was stabled next to John Sadler when Twirling Candy was running and just thought he was an amazing looking animal and certainly a very good racehorse,” Glatt said. “I thought that maybe when he went to stud I'd have an opportunity to pick up one or two of (Twirling Candy's progeny).”

He picked both Law Abidin Citizen and “Collusion” for a group based in his native state of Washington – Dan Agnew, Jerry Schneider, John Xitco and Dr. Rodney Orr.

In the 2020 Crosby, 6-year-old Law Abidin Citizen, ridden by Abel Cedillo, didn't wilt after being close to a fast early pace and held on for third as 3-year-old Collusion Illusion, given a heady ride by leading jockey Flavien Pratt, rallied along the rail in the final furlong to edge Lexitonian on the wire.

The horses are a year older. The riders are different. And there was not an ounce of nostalgia involved in Glatt's thoughts of doubling back to the cast of 2020.

“The race is different from one year to the next, the horses and the way they're coming into the race is different. That's what you base it on,” Glatt said.

Collusion Illusion earned an automatic berth into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint via last year's Bing Crosby victory. A traffic-troubled 12th of 14 result in the BC Sprint at Keeneland in November was sandwiched between a second in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in September and third in the Grade 1 Malibu in December.

Collusion Illusion's six-race 2020 campaign ended with earnings of $317,800, boosting his career total to $474,751. The Bing Crosby will be his 2021 debut.

Law Abidin Citizen followed the Bing Crosby with a start in the seven-furlong Pat O'Brien, the second in Del Mar's summer sprint stakes series, and was third to C Z Rocket. He made his 2021 debut with a fourth-place result in the Grade 3 Daytona at Santa Anita on May 29 then won the Oak Tree Sprint at Pleasanton on July 3.

“He's a hard-trying horse and maybe he can pull a little bit of an upset,” Glatt said.

Dr. Schivel won the Del Mar Futurity last September for trainer Luis Mendez after it had been reported that the ownership partners — Red Barons Barn and Rancho Temescal — were soon to turn the Violence colt over to Glatt.

The media voted Dr. Schivel the top 2-year-old of the meeting and Collusion Illusion the top sprinter, giving Glatt two returning division champions to saddle in the Crosby.

Dr. Schivel started his 3-year-old campaign with a neck victory in an allowance sprint at Santa Anita in June. Prat, who has won five of the last six runnings of the Bing Crosby – missing only in 2019 – will be aboard.

“He had a very good comeback race and he has trained very well since,” Glatt said.

Collusion Illusion became Glatt's fifth Breeders' Cup starter and a Crosby victory with any of the horses would put him in the enviable position of “home track” advantage when the BC Sprint is held at Del Mar as part of the 14-race, $28 million, two-day fall championships on November 5-6.

Collusion Illusion joined Eddie Haskell (11th, 2019 Turf Sprint) and La Tee (10th, 2008 Filly & Mare Sprint) as short-distance race Breeders' Cup starters for Glatt. He also had Blackjackcat (3rd, 2017 Mile on turf) and Sharp Samurai (3rd, 2020 Dirt Mile).

The performances of Blackjackcat and Sharp Samurai should serve as a shield for Glatt, a 48-year-old native of Washington, from being typecast as a “sprint” trainer. Not that he's worried about that either.

“If that's the worst thing they call me, I'm doing all right,” Glatt said.

Equibase statistics show Glatt is No. 42 in North America for earnings in 2021. Entering the third week of Del Mar racing on Thursday, July 29, he had 34 wins from 160 starters with stable purse earnings of $1,739,366. His career numbers: 6,774 starters, 1,039 wins (No. 1,000 was recorded last November 20 at the Bing Crosby fall meeting with Zestful) and earnings of more than $34 million.

With one Grade 1 victory on the record, he has loaded up for another on Saturday.

And this one, if it happens, won't be so quiet.

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Equibase Analysis: Vertical Threat Poised To Upset Bing Crosby

This Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar is a “Win & You're In” for the Breeders' Cup Sprint this fall and as such drew a field full of very good sprinters, nine to be exact. Last year's Bing Crosby Stakes winner Collusion Illusion is back to defend his title but whereas he was sent to post at nine to five odds one year ago on the strength of three straight wins, including the Grade 3 Lazaro Barrera Stakes, this year Collusion Illusion returns from seven months off and lost his last three starts of 2020.

Instead, favoritism is likely to go to C Z Rocket with career earnings of nearly $1.4 million, much of that earned when second in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint last fall and when winning the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar last summer. Law Abidin Citizen was third in last year's Bing Crosby behind Collusion Illusion then four weeks later finished third in the Pat O'Brien behind C Z Rocket. He enters the race off a win in the Oak Tree Sprint Stakes four weeks ago at Pleasanton.

Vertical Threat is another with strong stakes credentials, last seen winning the Steel Valley Sprint Stakes in November and having also won the Smiling Tiger Stakes at Del Mar last summer. Quick Tempo returned from nearly seven months off four weeks ago for a strong second place effort in the Iowa Sprint Stakes, while Brickyard Ride easily won the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes in March and enters the race off a win in the Thor's Echo Stakes.

Shooters Shoot is yet another with good credentials in similar sprint stakes as he was second in the Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes when last seen at the end of May. Eight Rings finished fourth in that race as the eight to five favorite and hasn't run since. Dr. Schivel rounds out the field, but has to be considered a contender as he won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity last summer and returned from nine months off to win just last month.

Vertical Threat is a perfect three-for-three in sprints. Each of those three wins came at the six furlong distance of the Bing Crosby. One of those wins came at Del Mar last summer when, in only the second start of his career, Vertical Threat won the Smiling Tiger Stakes. That effort earned him a career-best 107 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure off a 102 figure one month earlier. After a failed attempt at a longer distance in the Pat Day Mile last September, Vertical Threat rested two months and shipped to Ohio for a dominant performance with a field high 118 figure winning the Steel Valley Sprint Stakes in a field of 12. In this year's Bing Crosby there is likely to be a contested early pace battle between Quick Tempo and Brickyard Ride, who have only won when leading from the start. Considering Vertical Threat closed from off the pace to win last June then again in July in the Smiling Tiger, the colt could get first run on the tiring leaders and hold off any horses farther back in the early stages. Additionally, he's very likely to be stronger as a four year old so having put in some superb workouts for his comeback, Vertical Threat has a fine chance to keep his perfect record at the distance intact to win.

C Z Rocket has won 11 of 26 career races including four of eight at this distance. He also won the only time he ever raced at Del Mar. That win came last year when taking the Pat O'Brien Stakes at seven furlongs in August with a 110 ™ figure. C Z Rocket is even faster at this six furlong trip, as he earned a 117 figure last September when victorious in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Not disgraced one bit when second behind Whitmore in the Breeders' Cup Sprint last fall, C Z Rocket won his first two starts of 2021, first with a 111 figure in the Hot Springs Stakes then a 114 in the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap. Stretching out to a mile and running over a sloppy track, C Z Rocket was second in the Steve Sexton Mile in May and on the cut back to his best distance has every right to rebound to a winning effort.

Dr. Schivel, like Vertical Threat, has only run five times. He improved markedly last summer at Del Mar when easily winning to break his maiden in his third career start (with a 108 figure) before victory in the Del Mar Futurity as the betting favorite. Taking his time to get back to the races, Dr. Schivel returned in June as if he had never been away as he relaxed in fourth in the early stages before getting up by a neck right on the wire. That effort earned him a new career best 109 figure from which he should improve in his second start off the layoff, and as a previous grade 1 stakes winner, Dr. Schivel could certainly run well enough to win.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Brickyard Ride (115), Collusion Illusion (111), Eight Rings (104), Law Abidin Citizen (108), Quick Tempo (107) and Shooters Shoot (101).

Win Contenders:
Vertical Threat
C Z Rocket
Dr. Schivel

Bing Crosby Stakes – Grade 1
Race 10 at Del Mar
Saturday, July 31 – Post Time 9:30 PM E.T.
Six Furlongs
Three Years Olds and Upward
Purse: $300,000

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C Z Rocket Slight Favorite In Contentious Bring Crosby

Nine of the fastest racehorses on the grounds will step on the accelerators at Del Mar Saturday for a six-furlong battle royale in the 76th edition of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes.

The race offers a $300,000 purse and, additionally – as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series – an all-expenses paid ticket into the $2-million Breeders' Cup Sprint, which will be contested at Del Mar on Saturday, November 6.

The race is deep in talent, deep in contention and crack full of speed. Picking a favorite is tough, but Del Mar's morning line man, Jon White, had made a call for the running machine known as C Z Rocket and hung him at 5/2. To underline the extent of the friction that rises with a dash like this, White has put 7/2 listings on both Dr. Schivel and Brickyard Ride, as well as a 4-1 tab on Collusion Illusion, the race's defending winner.

C Z Rocket has proven to be one of the great claims of recent times since he was haltered for his current connections by trainer Peter Miller at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas in April, 2020. The now 7-year-old gelding by City Zip has since run nine times – the last six in stakes – and won seven of them, along with a pair of seconds. In the process he's banked more than $1 million and improved his career marks to 26-11-3-2 with total earnings of $1,391,641.

Dr. Schivel's main claim to fame so far is winning the Del Mar Futurity last September, after which he was sold to his current outfit and sent to the barn of trainer Mark Glatt, who then put him on the shelf for nine months. The 3-year-old son of Violence made a comeback start in June at Santa Anita in an allowance race and won it in a photo.

Brickyard Ride is a seriously fast horse whose style is to go to the front and dare his rivals to come catch him. Trainer Craig Lewis has campaigned the 4-year-old by Clubhouse Ride both in California-bred races and against open company and has come away a winner in both circumstances. He's captured eight of 16 starts and banked $464,477.

Collusion Illusion won the Crosby as a 3-year-old, getting up in the very last jump to score by the proverbial whisker. The Twirling Candy offspring has proved a winner in five of his nine trips to the post and will be making his first start since last December at Santa Anita. He, too, is trained by Glatt, while the conditioner also calls the shots for Crosby entrant Law Abidin Citizen.

Here's the full field for the Crosby from the rail out with riders and morning line odds: Exline-Border Racing and ERJ Racing or Hudock's Shooters Shoot (Trevor McCarthy, 15-1); Slam Dunk Racing or MyRacehorse's Vertical Threat (Joe Bravo, 8-1); Madaket Stables, Barber or Kagele's C Z Rocket (Florent Geroux); Agnew, Schneider or Xitco's Law Abidin Citizen (Wayne Barnett, 12-1); Dare to Dream Stable's Quick Tempo (Umberto Rispoli, 12-1); MyRacehorse, Agnew, Orr, et al's Collusion Illusion (Tyler Baze); Coolmore Stud, Madaket Stables or Starlight Racing, et al's Eight Rings (Abel Cedillo, 10-1); Red Baron's Barn, Rancho Temescal or Reeves, et al's Dr. Schivel (Flavien Prat), and Alfred Pais' Brickyard Ride (Juan Hernandez).

The Crosby goes as the 10th race on an 11-race program with a first post of 2 p.m.

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Bell’s The One ‘Proud Of Herself’ After Saratoga Win, Targets TCA En Route To Breeders’ Cup

Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One earned an 89 Beyer for her triumphant Saratoga debut in Wednesday's Grade 2 Honorable Miss.

Trained by Neil Pessin, the daughter of Majesticperfection added a fourth graded stakes victory to her resume with a wide, last-to-first move under Corey Lanerie and battled to the outside of graded stakes winner Lake Avenue down the stretch to close for the neck-length score.

“She had a little more energy this morning than I expected,” Pessin said. “She was pretty proud of herself this morning. A race always takes something out of them but she's not acting like it took a lot out of her.”

Pessin said Bell's the One will ship out of Saratoga on Thursday evening and will target the Grade 2, $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America on October 9 at Keeneland en route to the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on November 6 at Del Mar. She finished third in last year's Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland.

Pessin said he was thrilled to see Bell's the One in the Saratoga winner's circle.

“I'm more excited for her because she still hasn't got the respect she deserves,” Pessin said. “I feel like she's never got the justice that she's due so maybe that will help get her there.”

Bell's the One previously notched graded stakes scores in the Grade 2 Raven Run in October 2019 at Keeneland, the Grade 3 Winning Colors in May 2020 at Churchill Downs and Grade 1 Derby City Distaff in September at the Louisville oval.

Following the Honorable Miss, Pessin said Bell's the One was the greatest horse to come up under his care in nearly four decades of training. He compared his star pupil to graded stakes placed Eden Prairie, who was a four-time stakes winner at Fair Grounds and also was owned by Lothenbach Stables.

“When they give you 110 percent every time they run, whether they have the ability or not, you got to love them,” Pessin said. “Good horses lay it down every time, Eden did that, and Bell's has done that. They give you more than you ask of them.”

Pessin said Bob Lothenbach, owner of Lothenbach Stables, was excited to see his mare put up such a performance and looks forward to the possibility of another start in the Breeders' Cup.

“He was very excited last night when I talked to him, he's looking forward to the Breeders' Cup,” Pessin said. “He has a place in California so I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to be out there with a good chance to win.”

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