The Chosen Vron Withstands Heat to Take Cal Cup Sprint

Although he took intense pace pressure to the head of the stretch, The Chosen Vron managed to dig deep when it counted, holding off late-charging sophomore Big City Lights  by a neck to win the $150,500 Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint Jan. 7 at Santa Anita Park.

Ridden by Hector Berrios and trained by Eric Kruljac, The Chosen Vron, a 5-year-old gelded son of Vronsky , sped six furlongs in 1:08.96.

The first of five state-bred stakes on Cal Cup Day at Santa Anita, the Cal Cup Sprint is part of the lucrative California Thoroughbred Breeders Association-sponsored Golden State Series for California-bred or sired runners.

Although Berrios said following the race that his intention was not to go to the early lead, that is where The Chosen Vron took him. He was immediately engaged to his outside by Resilient , and the pair went head and head through lively splits of :22.07, :44.36 and :56.60.

Three sixteenths out, the winner eased clear by a half-length, but the Richard Mandella-trained newly-turned 3-year-old Big City Lights , two lengths off the lead at the quarter pole, was flying late under Juan Hernandez, and with a sixteenth of a mile to run. The outcome seemed in doubt, but The Chosen Vron fended him off.

"We hooked a horse (Resilient) that was very determined pretty much the whole way," Kruljac said. "And a little shout out to Richard Mandella, 'Richard, You're getting closer!' That 3-year-old is a nice horse."

The Chosen Vron does not always race on the lead, but did so Saturday after a sharp break.

"Today he handled pressure from the inside and outside," Berrios said. "Maybe at the end he was a little tired from the early pressure, but he showed a lot of heart.

"He's a good horse, and maybe with more distance, he will be a bit more comfortable, and it'll be much better."

"That was a little tight, but I knew I didn't catch the other horse," Hernandez added, noting his mount broke a little slower than he would have liked.

The Chosen Vron, who had won his last three races, all state-bred stakes, paid $2.80 to win.

Owned by his trainer, Sondereker Racing, Robert Fetkin, and Richard Thornburgh, The Chosen Vron, who won a pair of graded stakes at age 3, now has eight stakes to his credit. Bred by Tiz Molly Partners, he is the lone stakes winner from six foals, five of them of racing age, produced from the Tiz Wonderful  mare Tiz Molly . Her youngest produce is a Clubhouse Ride  yearling filly.

With the California Cup Sprint winner's share of $90,000, The Chosen Vron increased his earnings to $612,678 from a mark of 9-1-2 from 13 starts.

Video: Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint S. (BT)

Thirsty John Fires Fresh in Cal Cup Derby

Away since May 14 and in only his second career start, Thirsty John  proved too much for six fellow California-breds Saturday, as he went to the front and took the $196,000 California Cup Derby by a half-length under Hernandez. 

Trained by Peter Miller and based at San Luis Rey Downs, the 3-year-old colt by Stay Thirsty   finished 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.51.

Thirsty John, who took his 4 1/2 furlong debut at Santa Anita by 3 1/4 lengths when trained by Walther Solis, settled into a nice rhythm up the backside while posting fractions of :23.45, :47.68, and 1:11.90. He had a half-length advantage on determined 8-5 favorite Giver Not a Taker  leaving the quarter pole, and kept his fellow Miller trainee at bay the length of the stretch through a 1:38.32 mile.

"On the dirt, that's a really comfortable pace for the horses, especially for a horse that is returning from a big layoff," Hernandez said. "I have to give a lot of credit to Peter Miller because he brought this horse ready to win, and my horse showed a lot of heart. He showed that he can run and get the job done. This horse won pretty easy the first time, and he was really comfortable today. For the last stretch, I just used motion and hand riding. In the end, he got the job done."

Thirsty John was the second choice in the wagering at 2-1 and paid $6.60 on a $2 win ticket. Golden Gate Fields-based Passarando  kept to his task determinedly and finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of Crypto Ride  to complete the trifecta.

Bred by Terry Lovingier out of the Discreet Cat  mare Discreet Dee , Thirsty John is owned by his breeder in partnership with Tom London and Eugene Zondlo. The colt now has earnings of $150,200.

"I told Terry Lovingier he's a good horse, but if he wins this race off of the layoff, he's a very good horse," Miller said. "I think he showed today that he's a really good horse. That's kind of what we thought about him, but I didn't know if we had him fit enough to do this off of an eight-month layoff and only one start.

"Giver Not a Taker gives it every time, and he gave it again today. I'm proud of him as well, he ran another big race."

"I was confident that he's a good horse," Lovingier added, calling it "impressive" for the colt to win after a long hiatus.

Discreet Dee has produced four starters, all of which have been winners. Her most recent foal is a Stay Thirsty   colt foaled in April  2022. She is also the dam of Rock N Rye , winner of the 2021 Graduation Stakes at Del Mar.

Video: California Cup Derby (BT)

Grazed My Heart Ekes Out Oaks Score

In an agonizingly tight finish, the Jeff Mullins-trained Grazed My Heart  got up to win Saturday's $200,000 California Cup Oaks by a nose, giving jockey Hector Berrios his second stakes win on the card. A 3-year-old filly by Grazen , Grazed My Heart raced one mile on turf in 1:37.41.

"At the three-eighths pole what was going through my mind was, 'You have a lot of work to do, buddy,' and at about that time, here she comes," Mullins said. "I could see she had a big run in her and all she needed was room to get through. I was trying to watch through my binoculars and watch live, when she hit the wire, I just said, 'We got it.' But it's hard to tell when it is that close."

Last, about seven lengths off pacesetter and eventual runner-up Sell the Dream  three furlongs out, Grazed My Heart hugged the rail around the turn, angled three-deep at the furlong pole, and managed to get up in time. Sell the Dream, the 6-5 favorite, held for second after setting fractions of :23.62, :47.94, 1:12.36, and 1:24.57.

Claimed out of a second-place finish in a $50,000 maiden claimer four starts back on Aug. 19 at Del Mar, Grazed My Heart was most recently second going one mile on dirt in the Dec. 11 Soviet Problem Stakes for state-breds at Los Alamitos Race Course.

Sent off at odds of 5-1, she paid $13.80 on a $2 win ticket. Sell the Dream finished a half-length in front of Cast Member , who completed the trifecta.

Grazed My Heart was bred in California by Cicero Farms and the Batchelor Family Trust out of the Scat Daddy mare Daddy's Duo . Owned in part by former trainer Mark Cofer and his wife Patricia, along with the Webb Family Trust, she increased her earnings to $198,020 from an overall mark of 2-3-1 from seven starts.

"We never imagined anything like this would happen when we claimed the filly," Cofer said. "Our partners on this horse, Keith and Priscilla, I've known since I was in diapers. My father trained horses for Priscilla 50-plus years ago. She's 96 now. The day this filly broke her maiden here was her 96th birthday. So it has been a Godsend and it's just amazing. I give all the credit to Jeff Mullins and his team. They've done a fantastic job with this filly, and it's exciting."

Big Summer Soaks Up Hillside Turf Course

Two-for-two down Santa Anita's unique hillside turf course coming into the $152,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint, the Carla Gaines-conditioned Big Summer  was all heart in winning her biggest race to date by three-quarters of a length.

Ridden by Joe Bravo, the 5-year-old mare by Mr. Big   got about 6 1/2 furlongs down the hill in 1:13.10. Early fractions were :22.21, :44.29, and 1:07.17.

In-hand from her rail post out of the gate, Big Summer tracked the early leaders to the half-mile pole, took the lead, and was inside a four-horse spread at the dirt crossing, three-sixteenths of a mile out. Although she appeared to stay on her left lead, Big Summer was tenacious on the lead and held off a determined Eddie's New Dream  late.

Bred by Bob Abrams and Michael Dutko, Big Summer, who is out of the Cee's Tizzy  mare Ultimate Summer , is owned by Robert Abrams, Mitchell Dutko, and Michael Paran.

Most recently second going six furlongs on synthetic Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields Dec. 10, Big Summer was off at 7-2 and paid $9.80 to win.

In winning her first stakes, Big Summer improved her overall mark to 4-5-2 in 11 starts. She increased her earnings to $295,160. 

Eddie's New Dream finished a half-length in front of favored Alice Marble .

Video: Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint S. Presented by John Deere (BT)

Coalinga Road Rallies to Take Turf Classic

In the final race of the day on California Cup Day Saturday at Santa Anita, one of the state's longest and most successful Thoroughbred owner/breeders, John Harris, witnessed his homebred Coalinga Road  rally to take the $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic by a neck under Hall of Famer John Velazquez. Trained by Carla Gaines, Coalinga Road completed 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:49.79.

Content to stalk the early leaders into the first turn behind early fractions of :24.39 and :49.50, Coalinga Road was fourth, about two lengths off Kings River Knight  with three-quarters of a mile to run. Leaving the three-furlong pole after three-quarters in 1:13.87, Velazquez was on the move three-deep and gradually overtook Kings River Knight through a 1:37.86 mile while prevailing over the onrushing Aligato  and Luvluv  on the money.

Bred and owned by Harris Farms, Coalinga Road, who had raced on dirt in his last two starts, most recently on Nov. 19 at Del Mar when third to the multiple stakes-winning The Chosen Vron in the state-bred Cary Grants Stakes at seven furlongs, was off at 3-1 in a field of eight older horses and paid $8.60.

Out of the Johannesburg mare Coco Ecolo  who has four winners from four foals to race, Coalinga Road, in notching his first stakes win, improved his overall race record to 4-6-3 in 18 starts. With the winner's share of $110,000, he increased his earnings to $260,600.

Fifth at the rail early and tucked in just to the inside of the winner heading up the backside, Aligato stalked the leaders around the far turn, awaited room while two from the rail at the top of the lane and finished well to just miss under Flavien Prat.

Off at 5-2, Aligato, who found his best stride late, finished a neck in front of Luvluv, who showed.

Carmelita's Man , the 2-1 favorite, finished seventh.

Video: Leigh Ann Howard California Cup Oaks (BT)