Lord Nelson Schooling © Zoe Metz for Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
Spendthrift Farm’s classy Lord Nelson, recent winner of the Grade I Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita, will attempt to continue building on his reputation Sunday when he heads a field of nine sprinters in the 71st running of the Grade I $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs.
According to allowance conditions for the six-furlong dash, Lord Nelson will carry highweight of 123 pounds, conceding from four to eight pounds to his rivals. Flavien Prat has the mount on the Bob Baffert-trained son of Pulpit, a half-length winner of the seven-furlong Triple Bend.
Lining up against Lord Nelson will be Justin Squared, Martin Pedroza; Subtle Indian, Mike Smith; Dream Saturday, Martin Garcia; Indexical, Santiago Gonzalez; Kaabraaj, Edwin Maldonado; Bluegrass Bronco, Guiseppe Ercegovic; Home Run Kitten, Joe Talamo, and Alsvid, Chris Landeros. With the exception of Justin Squared, who will pack 115 pounds, all other entrants carry 119 pounds.
The Bing Crosby Stakes, which honors the memory of Del Mar’s co-founder, is part of the “Win and You’re In” series which guarantees the winner an automatic berth in the $1.5 million Twin Spires Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on November 5.
Post time for the first of nine races is 2 p.m.