The fields for the 14 races that comprise the Breeders’ Cup World Championships really begin to come into focus in summer and fall and this regular feature will offer a snapshot profile of one of the previous weekend’s standout stars.

California-bred The Chosen Vron extended his winning streak to eight by acing a class test in the $403,500, Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes July 29 at Del Mar. In doing so, he gained fees-paid entry to the $2 million, Grade 1 Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint scheduled for Nov. 4 at Santa Anita Park.

The Bing Crosby was The Chosen Vron’s 13^th win in 17 career starts, including one runner-up finish and two third-place efforts. He also pushed his career earnings over the $1 million mark. The 5-year-old Vronsky gelding has amassed this impressive record running somewhat under the radar while competing mainly in state-bred stakes over the past year, but he showed early in his 3-year-old season that he could win big races against open company, taking back-to-back Grade 3 stakes at Santa Anita Park in May and June 2021. Throughout his career, he’s shown versatility by winning stakes races on both dirt and turf and at distances ranging from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles. What’s more, The Chosen Vron has won in blowout fashion but also has come out on top in drag-out stretch duels, displaying incredible determination.

To wit: The Chosen Vron started this current winning streak with three consecutive open-length romps. Then, in his next four races he alternated razor-thin victories (a neck and a nose) with two more decisive scores. All seven of these wins came in restricted state-bred stakes, and since The Chosen Vron finished fifth in the 2022 Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes against open company at Del Mar (the only out-of-the money finish in his career), he was sent off as the third betting choice in a 12-horse field in the Bing Crosby at 9-2 odds.

Jockey Hector Berrios has been aboard The Chosen Vron for every race during the current win streak, and in the six-furlong Bing Crosby he positioned the gelding a bit further back than usual after having to check off the heels of a rival early in the turn. The Chosen Vron was sixth after a half-mile but moved up inside of rivals to bid for the lead in early stretch – and from there, he outdueled both Anarchist and 2021 Bing Crosby winner Dr. Schivel to prevail by a head.

Trainer and co-owner Eric Kruljac said after the win, “If the next Cal-bred race had been on the dirt I probably would not have gone today. I went back and forth and my foreman told me he would shoot me if I didn’t run. So I thought we might take a shot.”

The Chosen Vron was not nominated to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships as a foal, but Kruljac said after the Bing Crosby that he and fellow owners plan to pay a $100,000 late nomination fee to make the gelding eligible. His entry fees for the Qatar Racing Sprint are covered via his Bing Crosby victory since the race is part of the “Win and You're In” Challenge Series.

Based on the Bing Crosby result, The Chosen Vron proved that he’s ready for an even bigger challenge. The gelding has already won three California-bred championships and can now shoot for an Eclipse Award provided all goes well in his training over the next three months. How does he match up against the best sprinters in North America this year?

• The Chosen Vron consistently earns speed figures that, while slightly below what’s historically been required to win the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, are certainly competitive with the upper echelon in his division. He’s averaged an Equibase Speed Figure of 109.7 and a Beyer Speed Figure of 96.2 during his eight-race winning streak, and his best Equibase figure during that span, a 115, came in the Bing Crosby.
• As mentioned earlier, he has won races going gate to wire, pressing the early pace, or coming from behind. One of the question marks about The Chosen Vron coming into the Bing Crosby concerned the small fields he had been running in – he’d beaten a total of 18 opponents in his five prior wins. But in the Bing Crosby, he overcame racing in tight quarters early in the turn to muster a sustained charge through the stretch and defeat a high-quality field of 11 foes.
• The Chosen Vron will have a home-track advantage in the Breeders’ Cup. He has made 10 career starts at Santa Anita Park boasting a record of 9-0-1 in those races. His only loss came in the second start of his career when he checked in third in the seven-furlong, Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes back in February 2021.

With that sterling record in mind, it’s not surprising that Kruljac told Daily Racing Form that he will consider the $200,000, Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Sept. 30 at ‘The Great Race Place’ for The Chosen Vron’s next start. Most racing pundits rightly place defending BC Sprint winner Elite Power atop the sprint division three months away from the Breeders’ Cup based on that horse’s own eight-race winning streak (which includes a victory in Saudi Arabia back in February). But The Chosen Vron stamped himself as a legitimate contender in the Sprint with his Bing Crosby score and could move up the rankings even more if he backs it up in his final prep.