In a thrilling battle down the Del Mar homestretch, up-and-coming sophomore sprinter Raging Torrent got the better of California-bred sensation The Chosen Vron in the $251,500 Pat O’Brien (G2).
A deep field lined up for the seven-furlong dirt dash, which awarded a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G2) at Del Mar. The Chosen Vron, with his 19-for-24 career tally, loomed as the 1-2 favorite off a comfortable win in Del Mar’s six-furlong Bing Crosby (G1). Other accomplished contenders included $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) winner Senor Buscador, Triple Bend (G2) hero Happy Jack, and Palos Verdes (G3) victor Big City Lights.
Raging Torrent, the lone three-year-old in the field, brought a lighter resume to the table. Three graded stakes starts as a juvenile failed to yield better than a third-place finish, but after starting 2024 with a pair of defeats in turf sprints, Raging Torrent improved dramatically when switched back to dirt. He was never headed when smashing a seven-furlong $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs by 8 1/4 lengths, and in the Maxfield S. over the same track and distance he employed identical tactics to score by 2 1/4 lengths.
This strategy—head to the lead and never look back—served Raging Torrent well in his return to the graded stakes ranks. Under regular rider Antonio Fresu, the son of Maximus Mischief broke on top in the Pat O’Brien and set fractions of :22.56 and :44.96 while closely pursued by The Chosen Vron. The favorite stuck his head in front at the top of the stretch, but Raging Torrent had more in the tank and gamely battled back to prevail by a neck in 1:21.17.
The Chosen Vron, carrying seven pounds more than the winner (125 pounds to 118 pounds), ran a gallant race in his own right.
“He tried; no doubt,” said Hector Berrios, rider of the runner-up. “But maybe he came back a little too quick. He just ran here a few weeks ago (July 27) and this might have been too soon. He had to give the winner weight, too. That all adds up.”
The Chosen Vron pulled 3 1/2 lengths clear of third-place finisher Big City Lights. Senor Buscador rallied belatedly to finish fourth over a distance shorter than his best, while the order of finish was completed by Happy Jack, See Through It, Moose Mitchell, and Arrowthegreat.
“I didn’t know if we’d get that easy of a lead,” said winning trainer Doug O’Neill. “Antonio had a lot of confidence and everything we dreamt about on paper worked out. Turning for home I was thinking maybe we got second but it didn’t look like anybody was moving in on us. I never thought he’d put away The Chosen Vron. That was pretty incredible.”
Bred in Kentucky by Rodney J. Winkler and Alfonso Mazzetti, Raging Torrent sold for $75,000 as a two-year-old in training and races for the partnership of Mark Davis and Great Friends Stables. He’s more than earned back his purchase price, accumulating $467,400 in purse money from a 10-4-1-2 career record.
