Masochistic Eyes Second Grade I in Crosby

Speed should again be on display July 26, as Masochistic will seek his third straight graded stakes sprint win and second consecutive grade I in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes (gr. I) at Del Mar.

The Bing Crosby is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win & You're In" event, with a spot in the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) guaranteed to the winner.



The speedy 5-year-old Sought After gelding impressed last time out with a 3 1/2-length victory in the June 27 Triple Bend Stakes (gr. I), going seven furlongs at Santa Anita Park, where he pulled away with ease without feeling the whip from jockey Tyler Baze. That win was preceded by a score in the April 11 Kona Gold Stakes (gr. II), his graded debut.

BALAN: Masochistic Easy Winner of Triple Bend



Owned by Los Pollos Hermanos Racing and Jay Em Ess Stable, and trained by Ron Ellis, Masochistic has a 6-1-0 record from eight starts and has been training lights-out recently, with a :58 flat five-furlong move July 17 at Santa Anita and a :45 4/5 drill July 10. Baze returns and the pair will break from post 5 in the six-horse field as the 123-pound highweight.



But the likely favorite has not raced at six furlongs since May of 2014, when we won a maiden special weight event at Churchill Downs by 14 lengths in the second race of his career.



The pace will be likely be contested hotly, however, with Edward Brown Jr., Alan Klein, and Phillip Lebher’s Distinctiv Passion, who took the field gate to wire in the six-furlong Los Angeles Stakes (gr. III) at Santa Anita May 25. Trained by Jeff Bonde, the son of With Distinction also won the Midnight Lute Stakes (gr. III) in December and bounced back from a 13th-place finish in the Al Quoz Sprint (UAE-I) with the Los Angeles score.

LAMARRA: Distinctiv Passion Wires Field in Los Angeles



Bob Baffert-trained allowance winner Caminetto, making his stakes debut at 6 years old, could also factor into the pace scenario, along with Appealing Tale, who has shown route speed in the past, but sat off the pace in the Triple Bend when he finished second to Masochistic. Wild Dude, third in the Triple Bend, is a two-time grade II winner for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and should also have a stalking trip.



The lone closer in the field figures to be C R K Stable’s Kobe's Back, a two-time graded winner trained by Peter Eurton who last won April 4 Commonwealth Stakes (gr. III) at seven furlongs at Keeneland. The son of Flatter   was a far-back sixth last time out in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) at Belmont Park June 6.