Defending Champ American Theorem Eyes "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Sprint

The first Grade I race of the Del Mar summer meet is set to go this Saturday (July 29) at Del Mar Racetrack when 12 of the track's fastest dirt runners compete in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes, a "Win and You're In" challenge race for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

The Bing Crosby, named, of course, in honor of the track's founder, is the 10th of 11 races Saturday. Approximate post time is 6:30 p.m.

The Crosby is a very well-matched bunch, and the field would be biggest since the 10-runner field in 2004, but Del Mar's morning line maker Jon White has hung Red Baron's Barn Dr. Schivel - who won the Crosby in 2021 as a 3-year-old - as the ever-so-slight favorite at 7/2. He'll have top rider Juan Hernandez in the boot.

Dr. Schivel is a 5-year old son of Violence who won the 2020 G1 Del Mar Futurity. Instead of going on to the Breeders' Cup, the connections shut him down until June of the next year and he rewarded them with three straight victories, including a win in the 2021 Bing Crosby.

This time they did go to the Breeders' Cup. Dr. Schivel carried a five-race win streak into the Sprint at Del Mar where he suffered a heartbreaking defeat, losing by a nose to a surging Aloha West.

He returned in the G1 Malibu the day after Christmas and ran into Flightline. He lost by 19 lengths. Undeterred, his connections shipped Dr. Schivel to Dubai where he made a good account of himself in the Dubai Golden Shaheen. But when he got back to the states, trainer Mark Glatt didn't like what he saw in his horse and shut him down for what turned out to be more than a year.

Dr. Schivel returned this year to win an allowance race and then lost to Cody's Wish in the G1 Met Mile at Belmont Park.

"He didn't have a good trip," Glatt says. "I think he would have ran much better. Probably wouldn't have outrun Cody's Wish but he got in a bad position and never had a fair shot in the race."

The Chosen Vron is another 5-year-old who has become popular with followers of the Southern California racing circuit. He's stepping up into much tougher company in the Bing Crosby. The last time the son of Vronsky ventured outside of Cal-bred company he finished fifth in the G2 Pat O'Brien last summer at Del Mar. He hasn't lost since, running-off a string of seven straight wins including a five-length victory last out in the $100,000 Thor's Echo at Santa Anita in May.

"His last few races have been so easy," trainer Eric Kruljac says. "So after seven Cal-breds in a row sometimes you need to step out and try the big boys."

Kruljac bred The Chosen Vron. He wins six-furlong races and he wins one mile contests. He wins on the dirt and he wins on the turf.

"You never know (how good they're going to be) until their 2-year-old year, Kruljac says. "That's when he started showing flashes of brilliance. He's thriving. He's a happy horse"

The Chosen Vron will have his hands full in the Bing Crosby with arguably the top sprinter on the West Coast, Spirit of Makena, and last year's winner, American Theorem. There's also Sibelius, winner of the Dubai Golden Shaheen and the cagey veteran C Z Rocket.

"He's my idol, I want to be like him when I grow up," trainer Peter Miller says of his trusty 9-year old.

The son of City Zip hasn't won since taking a second-level allowance at Del Mar last summer but he's run second in the G2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, second in the Breeders' Cup Sprint to Elite Power, and second to Dr. Schivel in an open allowance in May. He returned two weeks later and posted a runner-up finish to Spirit of Makena in the G2 Triple Bend.

"He just keeps on ticking," Miller says. "He's super sound and has high energy all the time. He obviously fits (in the race). As long as he tells me he's enjoying his job and he stays as sound and as energetic, we're going to keep him happy and he's happy when he's running."

Miller says he's more inclined to train less and run more with an older horse like C Z.

"He doesn't need much training," Miller says. "He knows how to keep himself fit. Sound is new money and to have a 9-year-old still firing bullets, he's an easy keeper"

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In addition to Dr. Schivel, the entries includes Grade 1 winners American Theorem and Sibelius; The Chosen Vron, a graded winner who has won seven straight California-bred stakes; and graded winners Spirit of Makena, C Z Rocket, and Anarchist.

Others are graded-placed Hoist the Gold, Todo Fino, Get Her Number, and fast allowance sprinters Kid Corleone and Peaceful Waters.

Trainer George Papaprodromou will have a double-barrel attack when he sends out last year's winner, American Theorem, and arguably the current leader of the West Coast sprint division in Spirit of Makena.

American Theorem looked to be a rising star in the sprint division when he won back-to-back graded stakes in 2022; the G2 Triple Bend in June and the Bing Crosby in July. A runner-up finish to Laurel River in the G2 Pat O'Brien one month later did nothing to tarnish his image.

Papaprodromou trained American Theorem up to the Breeders' Cup and the son of American Pharoah ran a distant eighth. He was given the winter off and returned in June, on closing day at Santa Anita, and ran fifth and last in a second level allowance.

"He needed the race," Papaprodromou says. "He was coming off of the layoff and he wasn't ready. I think it will help him this time."

Papaprodromou says American Theorem is doing very good coming into Saturday's race as is his stablemate Spirit of Makena, who has been nothing short of brilliant so far this year. The son of Ghostzapper opened with a victory in an entry level allowance at Santa Anita in February. He followed that with a stylish win in the G3 San Carlos in March and then stamped himself a Breeders' Cup contender with a win in the G2 Triple Bend.

As for running his star sprinters against each other, Papaprodromou has no problem.

"Hopefully, one of them wins," he says. "May the best horse win. They both belong there."