Hawaiian Olympic swimmer Duke Kahanamoku was described by one biographer as having a “great degree of relaxation” because of his laid-back personality in the face of his extraordinary talent. Kahanamoku stretched his streak across three Olympic Games from 1912 to 1924, winning three gold medals and a pair of silvers before he finished. Sounds pretty relaxing to me.
Vron is selected has won 13 of his last 14 races, dating back to September 2022. During that time, he has won races at six furlongs, 6 1/2 furlongs, seven furlongs and a mile on dirt and twice at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf. He is now 6 years old and as strong as ever—Kahanamoku is strong—and if he is nervous about defending his title in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) on July 27 at Del MarHe hides it very well. His level of coldness is obviously amazing.
On the morning of July 26, after a routine gallop at Del Mar under the command of Raul Armente, The Chosen Vron was greeted as usual at the opening by his main man, Herlindo Huelas. They walked back to Barn PP along the ring road together, whereupon Armente dismounted, stripped off his saddle, gave a thumbs up and headed for another horse while Huelas took two carrots and headed for the washstand. There, The Chosen Vron succumbed to the tap and scraper, as if fed up with the whole thing, only to sober up after splashing some alcohol on him. It should be noted that Huelas did not need any help.
With that, the most popular California-bred racehorse since Tiznow and California Chrome is considered ready for Crosby, where he will face the powerful Doug O’Neill pair. Jack is happy And Anarchist with ambitions Jackstown Town from the Bob Baffert series, a 4-year-old son of Speightstown It took him two years to get his first and second wins.
“I think I’ve watched this race a hundred times,” said Eric Kruljac, who trains The Chosen Vron and is part owner of the gelding along with John Sondereker, Richard Thornburgh and Robert Fetkin. “There’s good speed there, and you couldn’t ask for a better position.”
Chosen Vron was assigned to the eighth stable of nine runners, although the number of runners is now eight with the arrival of Roll on Big Joe go six furlongs
“Last year we were on the inside and had a lot of trouble,” said Kruljac. “Then he regrouped and got through. This time he was maybe a little bit wide, but he could handle it. He’s a very smooth, long-distance machine; he can hold a gap of four or five lengths early and then have a terrible kick at the finish.”
Fans of The Chosen Vron point to Crosby 2023 as proof positive that their hero deserves to be in the conversation with the best sprinters in the land. Or at least among the most determined. Biding his time inside, surrounded by 11 rivals, Hector Berrios bided his time, waiting for daylight to appear, as the 62-1 It all ends Fall back behind the leader and enter the long, glowing face of The Chosen Vron.
“They made him stand on his head, but after six or eight jumps he got up on his own and still had enough strength to complete the task,” Kruljac said.
It was a tangle on the turn that left Trevor Denman, who called his first Crosby in 1984, missing The Chosen Vron’s swift recovery and not screaming until he joined a leading group inside the sixteenth pole. Somehow he managed to beat Anarchist by a head, with the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) runner-up Dr. Schivel a head back in third place.
In Berrios, Kruljac has found one of those sweet, unpredictable connections. Berrios is a 35-year-old Chilean import who will be riding his first Del Mar this summer when he is on The Chosen Vron, which is open for the 2022 Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2). The gelding has previously won races for Mike Smith, John Velazquez and Umberto Rispoli.
They finished fifth at the O’Brien and their only loss since then has been in the Breeders’ Cup.
“He was lucky and got on a horse when he was good,” Kruljac said. “I don’t remember who we switched from at the time. But Hector worked with him all the time, and they were really in sync. Other agents used to call, but now they know I would never dream of taking him away for a more famous rider. With the way they were going, why change?”
Santa Anita Park97 days later. There’s no shame in finishing fifth after Elite Power And Gunite that day, but his followers expected more.
Chosen Vron has not lost in five starts since, most recently a pro forma work against Cal-breds beaten in the Thor’s Echo Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The same race brought him to Crosby last year.
“I think he’s as good as he was this time last year,” Kruljac said. “We found out pretty early on that he’s a pusher. He’s a lean guy, he’s always been fit, he does more in the races than in the works. They don’t come around that often.”
California has produced many world-class sprinters over the decades, and Del Mar has put them on display. The problem is, there’s never been much money in sprinting, and if they don’t go east, they’re pretty much ignored by the national racing world.
Kissin’ George, however, was impossible to ignore. The Cal-born son of Slamruler won nine of his first 10 starts for Hall of Famer Buster Millerick and 19 of his 30 starts at age 6. He won the first Bing Crosby Handicap in 1967 and the second in 1969, alternating with a second-place finish in 1968, requiring Pretense to match his performance to beat him.
An injury should have ended his brilliant career in 1969, but Kissin’ George returned to racing four years later and reduced his record, losing 25 of his 32 starts. Fortunately, the most vivid remains of this fire-breathing chestnut are his 11 wins in California, along with a win in the Sport Page Handicap in New York and a respectable second place to Dr. Fager in the 1968 Vosburgh Handicap.
With Crosby in the books, Kruljac and his partners will aim to return to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on November 2, this time at Del Mar. Kruljac took responsibility for his performance last year, telling co-driver Tracy Gantz that he “over-refreshed” his horse, a term that should be heard more often.
“This time he will be ready,” Kruljac said. “And I hope he stays here for a long time after that.”
