Amazombie Derails The Factor in Bing Crosby
Amazombie, the classy six-year-old California-bred gelding, showed
again why he was America’s champion sprinter of 2011 with a
scintillating victory Sunday in the featured Grade I $300,000 Bing
Crosby Stakes.
Given a perfect stalking trip by his regular rider, Mike Smith,
Amazombie, the second choice at 9-5, rallied to the lead in deep
stretch and drew out to win by 1 ¼ lengths in a sparkling 1:08.65,
fastest six furlongs of the meeting over Del Mar’s Polytrack surface.
Amazombie, co-owned by Tom Sanford and trainer Bill Spawr, broke
alertly from his inside post position, settled into third behind dueling
leaders The Factor and Comma to the Top down the backstretch, came out
to launch his move into the stretch and was a convincing winner.
The Factor, the even-money favorite, was second, a head in front of
stablemate Capital Account, with Comma to the Top fourth and Don Tito
fifth and last in the small field.
Amazombie, a son of Northern Afleet, was third in the Bing Crosby a
year ago behind Euroears before taking the Ancient Title at Santa Anita
and then the Breeders’ Cup Sprint to clinch the Eclipse Award. Tentative
plans call for the horse to follow the same schedule this year.
Victory in the Crosby Stakes Sunday was Amazombie’s 12th in 27 lifetime starts and first money increased his earnings to $1,905,378. He returned $5.80, $2.60 and $2.10. The Factor, Del Mar’s 2011 Sprinter of the Meeting after winning the Pat O’Brien Stakes, paid $2.40 and $2.10, while Capital Account, like The Factor trained by Bob Baffert, paid $2.20 to show.