Lovesick Blues (18-1) pulls off upset in Bing Crosby at Del Mar

Lovesick Blues, a 7-year-old who was 0-for-3 in his previous graded stakes, came from next to last place with a headstrong rally under jockey Geovanni Franco to score an 18-1 upset Saturday in the Grade 1, $400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar.

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Making his 42nd start, the durable gelding bought privately in the past year by Mia Familia Racing Stable and sent to trainer Librado Barocio made a successful switch back from turf to dirt. It was so successful that because of this victory, Lovesick Blues earned an automatic berth for the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint over the same six furlongs as the Crosby.

Lovesick Blues was no better than eighth in the second turn, but he was making up ground as the field of nine made the turn into the homestretch. The gray-roan son of Grazen responded positively to left-handed urging by Franco to overtake Bob Baffert-trained Hejazi (9-2) in the deep stretch and win by 1 3/4 lengths.

Pace-setting Hejazi finished second, post-time favorite World Record (2-1) came in third, and Dr. Venkman (3-1) finished fourth. After early splits of 21.78, 44.48 and 56.37 seconds, Lovesick Blues finished with a final time of 1:08.74 on the fast main track.

Lovesick Blues paid $39.20, $14.60 and $8.00; Hejazi $7.40 and $4.60; and World Record $3.60.