The prep races are done for the vast majority of candidates for the 2025 Breeders’ Cup. But not for Lovesick Blues, whose trainer Librado Barocio is planning on using a 6 1/2-furlong statebred handicap on the downhill turf course at Santa Anita on Saturday as a stepping-stone to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Lovesick Blues unexpectedly joined the list of leading candidates for the six-furlong Sprint when rallying to upset the Grade 1 Bing Crosby by 1 3/4 lengths at odds of 18-1 with an eye-catching 105 Beyer Speed Figure on July 26 at Del Mar. The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series win earned the 7-year-old an automatic berth into the Sprint.
Barocio had originally planned on bringing Lovesick Blues into the Sprint off a 98-day layoff before ultimately deciding to change course and give him one final prep, on turf, in the California Flag Handicap, a race in which he’ll go postward the likely favorite despite a 126-pound impost.
“I was going to take the long road after the Bing Crosby and train him into the Sprint,” said Barocio, whose Mia Familia Racing Stable owns Lovesick Blues. “But he’s been kind of tearing the barn down of late. And after consulting with some of the guys who have been down this road before and weighing my options, I decided it might be best to run him in this race Saturday.
“Being on the downhill course, I don’t think it will take a lot out of this horse. They only really start to run when they get on the flat. And it should serve as a good tightener to really set him up for the Breeders’ Cup.”
Although he earned a fees-paid berth into the Sprint, Barocio will still have to put up $100,000 to make Lovesick Blues eligible for the race since he was not nominated to the Breeders’ Cup as a foal. If he were to win, Lovesick Blues would become the fourth 7-year-old to capture the Sprint, along with Cardmania (1993), Elmhurst (1997) and Whitmore (2020).
“This horse has really blossomed as a 7-year-old,” said Barocio, who purchased Lovesick Blues privately from his former owner and breeder Nick Alexander a year ago. “He’s just feeling really good and very comfortable, he’s in a happy time of his life right now.
“Obviously he’s very versatile, he’s won on turf and dirt, six furlongs seems to be his optimum distance, and more important, he loves Del Mar. I think it’s a big advantage for him the Breeders’ Cup is there again this year. This will be the biggest race of my career and right now it’s all like a dream come true.”
Dr. Venkman on the fence
Lovesick Blues is one of a handful of West Coast-based contenders for the Sprint. The list includes Dr. Venkman, whose connections also have the two-turn Dirt Mile under consideration for the multiple Grade 2 winner.
“We’ll probably pre-enter in both races and take it from there, unless by some miracle they change one of the two to seven furlongs,” trainer Mark Glatt said with a laugh on Tuesday.
Dr. Venkman has limited experience at six furlongs, having made only two starts at the distance, including his second-place finish behind Imagination in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Sept. 28. He has never raced at one mile, although Glatt says he has plenty of confidence Dr. Venkman can handle the distance in light of the fact he won the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap going 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar during his 4-year-old campaign in 2024.
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