Del Mar Race 10 | Grade 1 Bing Crosby | 6:38 PM PT | July 27th


#1 Anarchist (10/1), trained by Doug O’Neil & ridden by Kimura Kazushi


A 5-year-old horse sired by Distorted Humor has a strong track record, with 13 starts, 3 wins, 7 second-place finishes, and 0 third-place finishes, earning a total of $462,295 in its career. Anarchist has achieved two graded stakes victories, including the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien at Del Mar, racing over a longer distance (7 furlongs) last August. Before that, he narrowly lost (head) to The Chosen Vron in this same race last year. There are concerns regarding three consecutive races with declining speed figures, including a sixth-place finish by 8 ¼ lengths to Closethegame Sugar in the Kelly’s Landy S. at Churchill Downs on June 24th. However, his workouts have been impressive, and he has one win and one second-place finish at Del Mar in two career attempts. Anarchist possesses the second-fastest (101.5) and second-fastest middle pace (101.6), according to Equibase. The leading rider, Antonio Fresu, has opted to ride Straight No Chaser instead of Anarchist. Trainer O’Neil and jockey Kazushi have a 25% win rate and a 50% in-the-money finish rate, with an ROI of +138% when working together. All three victories have been achieved from the eighth post position, and the horse tends to secure a second-place finish when starting from an inner position. Live Long Shot!


#2 See Through It (30/1), trained by Genaro Vallejo & ridden by Tiago Pereira


This 7-year-old gelding, sired by Curlin to Mischief, will face tough competition in this Grade 1 event. His record stands at 34 starts, with 10 wins, 7 second-place finishes, and 6 third-place finishes, earning a total of $392,352. He recently won a Cal-bred restricted race at Los Alamitos, covering 6 ½ furlongs, on July 7th, but will be competing at a higher level in the upcoming race. In graded stakes races, his top performance was a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes. In February, he came in second to the winner, Big City Lights, trailing by four lengths, with odds of nearly 13/1. It is essential to note that he has never achieved victory in a race without using Lasix. He will be competing in the upcoming race without this medication. Toss!


#3 Straight No Chaser (6/1), trained by Dan Blacker & ridden by Antonio Fresu


Straight No Chaser, a 5-year-old horse sired by Speightster, boasts an impressive career record of 8 starts, four wins, no second-place finishes, and one third-place finish. His total earnings amount to $256,300. He has been the betting favorite in seven of his eight career starts. It's not all Myracehorse money, as his ownership group is much less than other horses owned by the syndicate. In his last race in May, he stumbled badly, had to make up ground, and eventually faded to fourth in the Grade 3 Run Happy stakes. He won the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Stakes by 7 1/2 lengths on May 20th, 2023. After almost a year off, this will be his second start, and he owns the fastest early pace (105.4) and fastest middle pace (105.8) speed figures in the field. Straight No Chaser ranks 9th in late-pace speed figures because he only runs in sprint races. His career-best 113 Equibase speed figure puts him right on par with The Chosen Vron. Trainer Dan Blacker and jockey Antonio Fresu have teamed up to win 33% of their races with a return on investment of +215%. Straight No Chaser has had three good workout sessions in the past five, including a five-furlong drill (1/66) at Del Mar on July 20th. With a clean start, he is a dangerous competitor and should be on the lead. Win Contender!


#4 Giant Game (20/1), trained by Peter Eurton & ridden by Joseph Talamo


Giant Game will be attempting the 6-furlong distance for the first time in his career. He has a record of 17-3-3-2 and has earned $629,490. The 5-year-old Giant's Causeway colt's most recent victory was in the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. on July 8, 2023. While his connections are noteworthy, it's challenging to build a strong case for this horse when assessing his class and speed ratings. Although he has shown early speed in previous races, it's worth noting that his sire has produced only 14% of winners in dirt sprints over the last five years. Additionally, he has never won while off anti-bleeding medication. Toss!


#5 Roll On Big Joe, trained by Bob Hess Jr. & ridden by Reylu Gutierrez


Roll On Big Joe has been SCRATCHED.


#6 Closethegame Sugar (5/1), trained by Adam Rice & ridden by Umberto Rispoli


This will be his fourth start in a little more than two months. Tough. He certainly looks the part, winning the Aristides and Kelly's Landing Stakes, both of which are listed stakes at Churchill Downs, in his last two starts. His career record stands at 8-5-2-0, earning $507,865. He has never run a bad race, which can't be ignored. However, his class and speed figures are much lower than those of other rivals in this field. On a positive note, Closethegame Sugar has two wins and one second in three career starts, all at 6 furlongs." How will he handle shipping into California, where he has never raced farther west than Churchill Downs? You have to respect trainer Adam Rice, who wins 44% of his stakes races, finishing in the money at 78% for an ROI of +390%. Win Contender!


#7 Happy Jack (3/1), trained by Doug O’Neil & ridden by Edwin Maldonado


I am a big fan of Edwin Maldonado, who was very friendly when we chatted before he climbed aboard my horses. Edwin is a class act, along with trainer Doug O'Neil. Happy Jack has a record of 13-3-2-3 with career earnings of $445,560. His last race produced a win in the Grade 2 Triple Bend stakes, going 7 furlongs at Santa Anita on June 1st. Before that race, he finished second to The Chosen Vron by ¾ lengths in the Kona Gold stakes (listed) on April 27th at Santa Anita. He has not won a race going 6 furlongs on dirt in over two years. His sustained running style is not conducive to Del Mar. Owns the slowest early pace (83.3) and slowest middle pace (87.6) speed figures. Happy Jack will keep running when the field turns for home, as he has the fastest late pace speed figure (130.9) in this field. A significant pace meltdown is needed for him to win, which is entirely possible but not likely. My instinct tells me he will be too far back to win. Use Underneath!


#8 The Chosen Vron (6/5), trained by Eric Kruljac & ridden by Hector Berrios


All eyes will be on this California-bred son of Vronsky. Why? The Chosen Vron has won 11 of his past 12 races, mostly restricted California-bred minor stakes races. His record of 23-18-1-2 with career earnings of $1,281,680 is super impressive. He won last year’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby by a head over Anarchist. He competed in the Grade 1 Breeders Cup Sprint and finished 5th by 5 ¼ lengths at Santa Anita. He was 8/1 that day and has been the betting favorite in 10 of his last 12 races, including five consecutive victories. The Chosen Vron has tactical speed and doesn’t need to be on lead to win. That’s what makes him so good. This is a tougher spot running against open company, but if any horse can do it, this one can. It is definitely the hometown choice that will attract a lot of money and will be the betting favorite at post-time. The One to Beat!


#9 Jackstown (15/1), trained by Bob Baffert & ridden by Juan Hernandez


The Wild Card horse. He has only raced twice and has two wins coming almost two years apart, earning $81,000. He broke his maiden at first asking, going 5 ½ furlongs on the Del Mar dirt track on July 31, 2022. The 4-year colt by Speightstown followed that win with another victory in an Allowance race, going 6 furlongs on the Santa Anita dirt course on June 14, 2024. He will take a significant step up in class but does get the services of the best dirt sprint rider on the West Coast. Juan Hernandez has won 29% in dirt sprints over the past year. Bob Baffert knows how to win stakes races (29%) and wins 35% when teaming up with Hernandez. This will be his first start in an outside post, and he has a lot of speed on his inside. He won from post four and post three in his only two races. His competition on those days is much less than all but three horses (#2, #4, #5) in this field. Use Underneath!


Jeff's Selection: #3 Straight No Chaser (6/1) to Win, Place, and Show


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