ITM Plus - Bing Crosby Horse-By-Horse Preview

By PTF - July 27th, 2024 at Del Mar

A little bonus coverage for the ITM Plus Faithful! My horse-by-horse look at the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday.

#1 ANARCHIST took advantage of a great setup to win the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes here last summer. That came on the heels of a near miss in this race. The comeback race was not pretty – he had the worst of a speed duel from the inside and spit it a long way out. He loves Del Mar and loves the six furlongs but I am leaning towards others in better form for the top spot. There’s a good chance he’ll be going best late in a race with a ton of speed and that makes him a contender.

#2 SEE THROUGH IT looks UP AGAINST IT in this spot. He’ll be tested for class and looking at pace figures, this typical frontrunner might have six other horses in front of him early. That’s not a recipe for success. Potential social runner brings a two-race win streak to this but like the 1989-1990 49ers, he will be hard pressed to complete the three-peat.

#3 STRAIGHT NO CHASER disappointed in his seasonal debut back at Aqueduct. You can excuse that if you want as he bobbled at the break and then went right to the lead, no doubt sapping his power reserves. The two previous were strong – frontrunning wins by open lengths where he looked to have plenty left. He might be the fastest of these early and the recent worktab looks strong. Not just for Thelonius Monk fans.

#4 GIANT GAME’s presence in this race probably put that 49ers crack in my head when I saw the overnight. They are trying something radically different here, cutting back this established distance runner who has been in poor form of late. This could be a race flow that favors a turnback runner like this – there is a ton of speed – but he’s hard to fathom on form or figures. Could see him running on late to be third or fourth though if you messing around in supers.