Points Offthebench Defeats Goldencents in Bing Crosby

With Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith in the saddle, California-bred Points Offthebench made a memorable debut in stakes company as he held on tenaciously in the final strides to defeat three-year-old Goldencents by a head Sunday in the Grade I $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes.

Points Offthebench, a son of Benchmark who had won four of six starts in non-stakes races, took command in the upper stretch and dug in determinedly when challenged by 9-5 favored Goldencents who was making his first appearance since finishing fifth in the Preakness Stakes last May.

Jimmy Creed was third, 3 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up, with Majestic City another 2 1/4 lengths away in fourth. Comma to the Top was fifth and Coach Bob sixth and last.

Points Offthebench, owned by Donald Crevier and Charles Martin and conditioned by Tim Yakteen, raced the six furlongs in 1:09.04 and returned $8.80, $4.20 and $8.40. First money of $180,000 almost doubled gelding’s bankroll, to $364,940, and gave Yakteen his first win in a Grade I event.

Points Offthebench also provided Smith with his second significant stakes success of the weekend, having won the Grade II $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes Saturday at Saratoga in upstate New York.

Goldencents, the Santa Anita Derby winner this year, had regular rider Kevin Krigger in the boot Sunday and paid $3.60 and $6.60, while Jimmy Creed returned $7.20 to show.

Julian Leparoux had his most productive day of the meeting as he rode three winners – Trucial State at $13.60 in the fifth, Pontchatrain at $9.40 in the seventh and Horizontalyspeakin at $15 in the tenth race nightcap.

With no perfect tickets in the Pick Six Sunday, Wednesday’s program will feature a carryover of $261,359. Post time Wednesday for the first of eight races will be 2 p.m.