Oh how they tried to beat The Chosen Vron. They sent graded stakes winners, multiple stakes winners, a graded stakes-placed horse, and an undefeated runner against him in the July 27 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar. But the fabled California-bred gelding had won 13 of his last 14—all in stakes—and he had an answer for any challenge.
Despite bettors desperately looking elsewhere to beat The Chosen Vron, he went off as the 3-2 favorite under regular rider Hector Berrios, a key component to the gelding's success, according to trainer, co-owner, and co-breeder Eric Kruljac.
When the gate opened, Berrios let The Chosen Vron select his own spot. They came out of post 6 (after two scratches), and The Chosen Vron galloped down the backside in fourth and four wide as Anarchist took the lead.
Anarchist and Closethegame Sugar raced head and head through an opening quarter-mile of :22.73, with See Through It and The Chosen Vron a half-length behind them. But The Chosen Vron was simply waiting.
He pulled even with the leaders and poked his head in front just before the five-sixteenths pole, at that point three wide. The Chosen Vron drew clear in the upper stretch and increased his lead from there. He flashed under the wire 2 1/4 lengths in front of Closethegame Sugar, who was coming off back-to-back stakes wins at Churchill Downs, and stopped the timer in 1:08.99. Jackstown, a Bob Baffert trainee undefeated in two starts, finished third, another half-length back.
It's hard to win two editions of the Crosby, an always-tough six-furlong sprint. The five who have done it previously included Eclipse Award champion Kona Gold and Cal-breds Kissin' George and Cherry River. Six-year-old The Chosen Vron doesn't have an Eclipse Award—yet—but he has plenty of Cal-bred hardware and now, with the Bing Crosby a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series event, has an automatic, fees-paid berth for a second try at the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).
"He's a near-human being as far as his temperament and his smarts," said Kruljac. "I can't say enough about Hector Berrios and his role with this horse. Every time we work him, Hector's on him. He's an all-around horseman; he's not just a jockey. He makes my job easy."
Kruljac has had much more than one job with The Chosen Vron. He coordinated the partnership of himself, John Sondereker, Richard Thornburgh, and Robert Fetkin, putting them together on the Tiz Wonderful mare Tiz Molly after Kruljac had trained her for them as part of Class Racing Stable. They bred The Chosen Vron in the name of Tiz Molly Partners, and Kruljac has shepherded him for them through a career that has now spanned 24 starts over five seasons, with 19 wins, 18 of them in stakes.
The $240,000 The Chosen Vron earned in the Crosby raised his total bankroll to $1,659,678 and moved him from No. 27 on the all-time list of Cal-bred earners to No. 20.
The Chosen Vron, the 2023 Cal-bred Horse of the Year, is by Vronsky, who stood at John Harris' Harris Farms near Coalinga prior to his death of a heart attack at age 22 in April 2021. A half brother to grade 1 winner No Matter What and grade 2 winner and sire E Dubai, Vronsky, a son of Danzig, earned $135,247 on the racetrack. His other runners include multiple Cal-bred champion and millionaire Closing Remarks and grade 1 winner What a View.
