Goldencents Tops Field in Bing Crosby
Goldencents, a winner of more than $2 million in his brilliant career, will seek to add the Grade I $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes to his accomplishments Sunday when he heads a line-up of eight talented sprinters in the six-furlong dash which honors Del Mar’s co-founder.
Goldencents, a four-year-old colt by Into Mischief from the barn of trainer Doug O’Neill, will pack highweight of 123 pounds versus Indexical, Declassify, Pablo Del Monte, Seeking the Sherif, Big Macher, Kobe’s Back and Wine Police.
Rafael Bejarano has the call on Goldencents who scored the most important victory of his career when he won the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita. Earlier in the year, he won the Santa Anita Derby.
At Del Mar last summer, Goldencents was second in both the Crosby (to Eclipse Award winner Points Offthebench) and Pat O’Brien (to Fed Biz), beaten narrowly in both instances. In the colt’s most recent outing, he was second, beaten a length, by Palace Malice in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park June 7.
Entering the Crosby off victories are Declassify, winner of the Grade I Triple Bend Santa Anita; Seeking the Sherif, a winner of four races in a row, and Big Macher, hero of the Portrero Grande last April. Lending additional strength to the field are Indexical, third in the Triple Bend; three-year-old Pablo Del Monte, sixth to California Chrome in the Preakness Stakes; stretch-running stakes-winner Kobe’s Back and Wine Police, second in the Los Angeles in May.
The Bing Crosby Stakes is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series which provides winners with free entry fees and a travel allowance.
Sunday’s supporting feature is the $150,000 California Dreamin’ Handicap, a mile and one-sixteenth race for older California-bred runners which attracted a dozen entrants.
Post time for the first race Sunday is 2 p.m.