Photo:

Richard Steele / Eclipse Sportswire

Trainer Eric Kruljac has been sure not to make the same mistake twice as he prepares The Chosen Vron for the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar.

Kruljac thought time would be a powerful ally for his beloved California-bred last year when he elected to use the July 29 Bing Crosby as the final race ahead of the Nov. 4 Sprint at Santa Anita. The gelding won the Bing Crosby, but the veteran trainer readily acknowledged he thought wrong in believing so much time between starts would be favorable.

“It was too long between races,” he said. “He was a little bit dull last year.”

Perhaps no horse was going to stop Elite Power from repeating as Sprint champion. The certainty is that The Chosen Vron failed to deliver his usual powerful effort. He never threatened and came in fifth, 5 1/4 lengths behind the winner, for regular rider Hector Berrios.

It was only the second time the chestnut son of Vronsky failed to hit the board. He previously failed to crack the top three on Aug. 27, 2022, when he also lagged in fifth in the Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar.

In part because his ability to dominate state-bred competition, The Chosen Vron owns 19 victories in 25 lifetime starts with a pair of runner-up efforts and two third-place results for earnings of $1,709,668.

The immensely popular West Coast star missed by a neck to Raging Torrent, a 3-year-old trained by Doug O’Neill, in this year’s seven-furlong Pat O’Brien on Aug. 24 at Del Mar, abruptly ending his six-race winning streak in this season’s Sprint prep.

That setback does not concern Kruljac, 71, who oversees only a handful of horses at this stage of his career. He noted that The Chosen Vron carried 125 pounds in the Pat O’Brien, seven more than his rival. He also said, “Our horse ran his regular race. He didn’t bounce by any means. The other horse just ran off the charts as O’Neill horses will do sometimes.”

The Chosen Vron owned a head advantage at the top of the stretch only to be outfought to the wire in a rare instance. The most important element as he prepares to take on the fastest of the fast is that he came out of the race well.

“He’s doing great,” Kruljac said. “He couldn’t be better.”

The Chosen Vron returned to the work tab Sept. 21, when he drilled three furlongs in 36.60 seconds. In his most recent work, he covered four furlongs in 48.20 seconds Oct. 5 at Santa Anita. That ranked 12th of 60 workers at that distance. The plan is to breeze him every seven days leading to the Cup.

“We don’t ask him for much in workouts. He pretty much trains himself,” Kruljac said. “Actually, he works under pretty strong restraint, and we let him gallop out half a mile.”

The trainer believes those gallop-outs are essential to success. “It didn’t come through anything special I did,” he said.

The Chosen Vron has earned a pair of Grade 1 victories, both coming in the Bing Crosby each of the last two years. Kruljac registered one Grade 1 win before that, when Leave Me Alone captured the Test Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga in the summer of 2005.

Kruljac is among the breeders of The Chosen Vron. He shares ownership in him with Sondereker Racing, Robert Fetkin and Richard Thornburg. He trained the dam, Tiz Molly, and was impressed by her, even though injuries ended her career after only six starts.

The Chosen Vron was honored as California-bred horse of the year in 2023 despite his Breeders’ Cup disappointment. Kruljac readily acknowledged that he has developed a powerful attachment to the gelding.

“He’s half human,” he said. Kruljac believes there is every reason to keep him in front of as many people as possible. He intends to campaign him for at least two more seasons unless he sees signs of slippage.

Kruljac is no stranger to Breeders’ Cup success. He watched with immense pride when Finest City strutted her stuff in the 2006 Filly & Mare Sprint for his son, Ian.

What would it mean to him if The Chosen Vron should put it all together in this year’s Sprint? “Believe me, it would be appreciated. It would be right up there,” he said.

It speaks volumes about Kruljac’s passion for horses that his most fervent wish for the 14-race Breeders’ Cup has nothing to do with a personal victory. He said his overriding desire is for everyone to get around safely.