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C Z Rocket Faces Off With Flagstaff In ‘Win And You’re In’ O’Brien

A field of 10 stout sprinters will travel seven furlongs Saturday at Del Mar in the 36th edition of the Grade 2, $200,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes.

The extended dash offers extra incentive to its participants: it is a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge race providing an all-fees-paid admission to the $1-million Breeders' Cup Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Foremost among the runners is the defending O'Brien champ, Madaket Stables, Barber or Kagele, et al's C Z Rocket, a veteran gelding who found a new lease on life when he was haltered for $40,000 16 months ago and took up residence in the barn of trainer Peter Miller. All the 7-year-old has done since is win seven races, four of them stakes, and place in three other added-money tests to bank more than $1.1-million for his new connections.

His regular rider of late, Florent Geroux, will come into town to accept the mount Saturday and they'll break from Post 9 in the seven-furlong chute. C Z Rocket has been made the 5/2 morning line favorite by Del Mar's morning line maker Jon White.

Here's the full field for the O'Brien from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Slam Dunk Racing, McClanahan or Nentwig, et al's Ginobili (Drayden Van Dyke, 6-1)
Little Red Feather Racing, It Pays to Dream Racing Stable or Kawahara, et al's Howbeit (Kyle Frey, 6-1)
Barnhart, Foxx or Naify, et al's Surfing Star (apprentice Jessica Pyfer, 30-1)
Martin or Martin's Mo Mosa (Ramon Vazquez, 10-1)
Coolmore Stud, Madaket Stables or Starlight Racing, et al's Eight Rings (Abel Cedillo, 6-1)
SF Racing, Starlight Racing or Madaket Stables, et al's Classier (Mario Gutierrez, 12-1)
Alfred Pais' Brickyard Ride (Juan Hernandez, 8-1)
Lanes' End Racing or Hronis Racing's Flagstaff (Joe Bravo, 3-1)
C Z Rocket
Gilbert and Sones' California Street (Wayne Barnett, 30-1)

Chief threat to C Z Rocket appears to be another classy veteran, the 7-year-old Flagstaff, a winner of seven races and $1,011,585. The gelding by sprint champion Speightstown has made five starts this year, but this will be his first in his California home base. He's run at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Kentucky and Belmont Park in New York, winning a pair of Graded stakes and placing in another. Flagstaff ran second in the O'Brien last year, a half length behind C Z Rocket.

Trainer Bob Baffert has a pair in the dash in Eight Rings and Classier. The former, a 4-year-old colt by Empire Maker, was second beaten only a neck in the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs earlier in the meet. Classier, a 3-year-old colt also by Empire Maker, shortens up off a score in the Los Alamitos Derby at nine furlongs on July 4.

Ginobili comes into the heat of a romping nine and three-quarter lengths triumph in an allowance race at Del Mar on July 17. He was running a mile that day and will be looking for his first stakes victory Saturday.

Howbeit is another coming into the race off a smart allowance score – two of them, in fact. The Secret Circle 4-year-old has six wins and $230,956 in earnings.

Brickyard Ride, one of only two California-breds in the field, sports a record of eight wins with earnings of $470,477. Much of his money making has been accomplished against state-breds, but he has won against open company, including a tally in the Grade II San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita this past March.

Post time for the Saturday 11-race card is at 2 p.m.

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Glatt Says Dr. Schivel Exited Bing Crosby In Good Health

A year after winning the $300,000 Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes with 3-year-old Collusion Illusion, trainer Mark Glatt did it again Saturday with another sophomore colt, Dr. Schivel at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

It's the first time one trainer has won the premier sprint stake of the meeting back-to-back with 3-year-olds tackling older rivals. And, as Glatt states it, there's no secret or trick to pulling off the unprecedented.

“When you have a really good 3-year-old, like this horse and Collusion Illusion last year, going against older is not that big a factor,” Glatt said. “When you have just an average horse, I think (age) comes into play a lot more.”

Dr. Schivel, a Kentucky-bred son of Violence, broke his maiden here in his third career start last August and came back a month later to win the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity for trainer Luis Mendez in early September.

Transferred to Glatt's barn, the colt was given a nine-month layoff, then overcame some bumping to win his 2021 debut in a June allowance race at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., that signaled stakes readiness.

“After he won his comeback race, we were eyeballing a race in New York (Sunday's 6 ½-furlong, $200,000 Amsterdam) at Saratoga that was a straight 3-year-old race,” Glatt said. “As we got further removed from his comeback race we (considered) how difficult it is to ship in to Saratoga and how he loves this track.

“Several of the owners live around here and want to watch the horse run, so I thought it was best to stay here and give it a try.”

The $180,000 winner's share of the purse pushed Dr. Schivel's career earnings to $416,000 from six career starts. The Bing Crosby was a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint over the same course on November 6.

Glatt said Sunday morning that Dr. Schivel and Law Abidin Citizen – third in the 2020 Crosby, fourth Saturday beaten less than a length – both came out of the race in good health. A third Glatt entrant in the Crosby, defending champion Collusion Illusion, was scratched due to a minor injury incurred in a training run Friday.

“It probably would have been safe to run him but the ownership group and I thought it was best to err on the conservative side and have him run another day,” Glatt said. “I don't know when, but I don't think that day will be very far off.”

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Trainer Bob Baffert said that Eight Rings, the Crosby runner-up beaten a neck at odds of 16-1, came out of the race with a shoe on one hoof that was bent nearly in half, but was otherwise fine.

“We were happy with him and thought he showed a lot of heart,” Baffert said. His next assignment remains to be determined.

Trainer Peter Miller reported that third-place finisher and 3-2 favorite C Z Rocket, beat only a half-length, exited the effort well. “He ran great, but you can't make up as much ground as he needed to on this track the way it's playing,” Miller said.

C Z Rocket will not defend his title in the $200,000 Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes on August 28. “We'll wait for Santa Anita,” Miller said.

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Dr. Schivel Earns Breeders’ Cup Sprint Berth With Hard-Fought Bing Crosby Triumph

Red Baron's Barn, Rancho Temescal, William Reeves and partners Dr. Schivel, a 3-year-old taking on older rivals, made the lead in midstretch, then hung extra tough late to capture the 76th running of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes by a neck Saturday at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif.

The victory in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Win and You're In contest gave Dr. Schivel a fees-paid berth in this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint, to be run at Del Mar on Nov. 6.

The son of Kentucky sire Violence gave his jockey and trainer a unique double in the $301,500, six-furlong dash – back-to-back scores in the shore track's premier race for sprinters with 3-year-olds, something that's never happened before. The final time in the dash was 1:10.47.

Flavien Prat, Del Mar's leading rider, was aboard the colt for his fourth victory of the day. He now has 17 wins in the first nine days of racing and also a remarkable streak in the Crosby: he's won six of the last seven runnings of the race. Mark Glatt is the trainer of Dr. Schivel and he also was the conditioner of last year's winner, the then 3-year-old Collusion Illusion (who was entered and scratched in this year's Crosby).

Finishing second in the Crosby was Coolmore Stud, Madaket Stables or Starlight Racing, et al's Eight Rings, while running third was the 3-2 race favorite, Madaket Stables, Barber or Kagele's C Z Rocket.

Dr. Schivel, who was making only the sixth start of his career, scored his fourth victory and picked up a winner's check for $180,000 and increased his bankroll to $416,000. The bay youngster had won last year's Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity for former trainer Luis Mendez, then was put on the shelf for nine months before coming back to win an allowance race at Santa Anita in June.

Dr. Schivel paid $6.80, $4.00 and $2.60 across the board. Eight Rings returned $10.80 and $4.80, while C Z Rocket paid $2.40 to show.

In the track's Pick 6 Single Ticket Jackpot wager, there was a carryover for the seventh day in a row. The pool going into Sunday is now up to $566,809.

The Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch heads Sunday's card. First post for the day is 2 p.m.

FLAVIEN PRAT (Dr. Schivel, winner) – “No special instructions; just ride. He broke well, then when we went across the gap, he grabbed the bit. He was running well, pretty much all the way around. He was game late. Good win.”

MARK GLATT (Dr. Schivel, winner) – “They went fast early, maybe not as fast as we thought. Flavien (Prat) rode him perfectly, gave him a good trip, and the outside post was a benefit. This is a real racehorse. He beat the olders today, and hopefully in November he'll be able to do it again. (Scratch of Collusion Illusion?) He grabbed a quarter training yesterday and he just wasn't perfect on it today. It probably would have been safe to run him but the ownership group and I thought it was best to err on the conservative side and have him run another day.”

:21.83 :44.67 :57.39 1:10.47

The stakes win was the sixth of the meeting for rider Prat and his sixth (of the last seven) in the Bing Crosby. He now has 66 stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meeting for trainer Glatt, but his second in the Bing Crosby (Collusion Illusion, 2020). He now has 12 stakes wins at Del Mar.

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Many Chances in Deep Bing

Handicappers will have a tough time tossing many horses from their tickets as a competitive nine-horse field lines up for Saturday's six-furlong GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Given a slight nod on the morning line at 5-2 is C Z Rocket (City Zip). Claimed for $40,000 last spring at Oaklawn by Peter Miller, the gelding has been a new horse since, winning seven of nine races while finishing second in the other two. That streak includes a score in last summer's GII Pat O'Brien S. over this oval. The 7-year-old most recently was second when stretching out in the GIII Steve Sexton Mile S. May 31 at Lone Star.

California-bred Brickyard Ride (Clubhouse Ride) rates a big chances breaking from the outermost stall. Earning a shot at open company after a convincing score in the California Cup Sprint S. Jan. 16 at Santa Anita, the Alfred Pais homebred didn't disappoint, cruising to an impressive four-length victory despite setting a scorching pace in the GII San Carlos S. Mar. 6. Well-beaten in his next two, he rebounded with a 4 3/4-length success in the Cal-bred Thor's Echo S. last out June 12.

Dr. Schivel (Violence) takes on older horses in just his fifth career start. Taking three tries to break his maiden, he came right back to annex the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity for Luis Mendez, but went unseen for over nine months after that before eventually returning with a narrow allowance/optional claiming tally for new trainer Mark Glatt June 18 at Santa Anita.

Defending Bing Crosby champion Collusion Illusion (Twirling Candy) makes his 4-year-old debut here. Runner-up in the GII Santa Anita Championship S. after his local heroics, he was 12th in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint before rebounding some to be third in the GI Runhappy Malibu S.

Other contenders include Vertical Threat (Tapiture), last seen romping by 7 1/2 lengths with a 102 Beyer in last November's Steel Valley Sprint S. at Mahoning Valley, Quick Tempo (Tapizar), who did his name justice when setting splits of :21.44 and :43.35 before setting for second in the Iowa Sprint S. at Prairie Meadows July 3, and Eight Rings (Empire Maker), who's winless in four starts since capturing the GI American Pharoah S. as a juvenile but shows a sharp worktab for Bob Baffert that includes a five-furlong bullet in :58 3/5 (1/91) July 10 in Arcadia.

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