Cistron races to spot in the Breeders’ Cup
He’ll run at Santa Anita in November after winning the Bing Crosby Handicap.
DEL MAR — Stephanie Hronis cradled a bouquet of red roses in her arms in the Del Mar winner’s circle Saturday after Hronis Racing’s Cistron scored an impressive victory in the Grade I $300,000 Bing Crosby Handicap.
Usually, Hronis happily hands over the flowers to a surprised young woman as she leaves the track. Maybe not this time. “This will be a tough one to pass on,” Hronis said, standing by the side of her husband, Kostas. “This was a big race. He dug in.”
Cistron ($11.60), ridden by Victor Espinoza, seized the lead at the quarter pole of the 6-furlong run on dirt and held off the Carla Gainestrained Desert Law by 21⁄4 lengths. Peter Miller’s Jalen Journey was third, ahead of Air Strike, which beat Cistron by a head in the Grade II Triple Bend at Santa Anita on May 25.
Favorite Recruiting Ready was sixth in the seven-horse field.
The fifth victory of Cistron’s career made him a “win and you’re in” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Santa Anita.
The Hronis family was beaming after yet another notable day at Del Mar. They were the leading owners at last year’s summer meet, and they are well on their way to repeating that title, with three stakes victories — all with trainer John Sadler — in the first nine cards.
The victory was special, too, because it came by Cistron, which has become a sentimental favorite to the Hronises. In 26 starts before Saturday, the son of The Factor had won four times and finished in the money on 17 occasions.
“This is big for him,” Kostas Hronis said. “He’s been a tough guy from Day 1. He’s won the dirt, on the turf; he’s won in long races, short races. He’s done it all. And now he’s got a Breeders’ Cup ticket. Good for him.”
As Sadler noted, Cistron’s success on the dirt was “kind of by mistake.” Santa Anita closed the downhill portion of its turf course in early April after the fatal breakdown of Arms Runner on the dirt transition.
That forced Sadler to make the decision to try Ciston sprinting on dirt. The first outing was a win on April 20 in the Grade II Kona Gold, followed by the runner-up in the Triple Bend.
“He re-woke himself up getting back on the dirt,” Sadler said.
Real Good Deal
Coming off a couple of third-place stakes finishes on turf, Lieutenant Dan ($6.40) got back on the dirt and captured the $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes at 7 furlongs.
The 3-year-old gelding, owned by Nick Alexander, last scored a win on Santa Anita’s dirt in the Echo Eddie Stakes at 61⁄2 furlongs on April 6. Trainer Steve Miyadi then moved him up in distance in running on turf in the Silky Sullivan (1 mile) at Golden Gate and Snow Chief (11⁄8) at Santa Anita as a participant in the Golden State Series.
“The cutback [in distance for the Real Good Deal] meant that I didn’t have to train him as hard, and I’m always worried about his weight, so that was a blessing in disguise,” Miyadi said.
Miyadi got his first victory of the meet, and jockey Drayden Van Dyke notched his first stakes win of the summer.
Van Dyke scored three victories on the day to bring his meet total to 10. That’s five behind leader Flavien Prat, who had a single win Saturday.