Man O Rose © Benoit Photo
Favorite Man O Rose stays a perfect three for three this year in taking the $100,000 The Chosen Vron Stakes by 1 ½ lengths Saturday at Del Mar. Named for 2024 and 2025 California Horse of the Year, The Chosen Vron, the stakes is for California-bred or sired three-year-olds and up going seven furlongs.
Under a confident ride by regular rider Edwin Maldonado, 4-5 favorite Man O Rose went to the front of the pack and had early pressure up the back stretch to the quarter pole from long shot Drop Um (26-1) and Kyle Frey. The pair battled head and head past the half mile pole, where they were met by Clovisconnection (8-1), who put his head in front travelling up the rail into the far turn. Man O Rose quickly reignited mid-way to the far turn and opened up a three-length lead in the stretch to win by 1 ½ lengths. Drop Um maintained second by a half-length over Shea Brennan (2-1), who had to travel three wide down the lane to get into third by a half length over Clovisconnection.
The Chosen Vron Stakes was the fourth state-bred stakes win and third in a row for Man O Rose. Trained by Jeff Mullins, in his first start this year off a 10-month layoff, he won the E B Johnston Stakes for the second time in a row going a mile at Los Alamitos. Man O Rose followed that victory with a nose victory in the six and a half furlong California Flag Handicap, down Santa Anita’s hillside turf course on October 10.
Owned and bred by B & B Zietz stables Man O Rose, a five-year-old, gelding by Stanford is now 17-10-3-0 and has increased his earnings to $497,965
Man O Rose paid $3.60, $2.60 and $2.10. Trained by Felix Rendon, Drop Um returned $13.40 and $4.20. Shea Brennan, ridden by Armando Ayuso for Phil D’Amato, paid $2.60.
Fractions on the race were 22.32, 44.63, 1:08.82, 1:21.66
Live racing continues with a nine race card Sunday, first post is 12:30 PM.
EDWIN MALDONADO (Man O Rose, Winner) – “I just wanted to make it to the top of the stretch, that was the goal; to not press the button (on him) too soon. I was very confident, I mean I knew I had a lot of horse coming down the stretch. He’s comfortable on the outside, he can lay second, he can be off the speed, but he needs to be on the outside. He has been on the lead most of his career. He didn’t switch leads last time coming down the hill (at Santa Anita), so today, my main thing was to try and get him to switch and give him that second gear, which he did.”
JEFF MULLINS (Man O Rose, Winner) – “It’s kind of nice to have The Chosen Vron gone. I loved that horse, but he was tough to beat. Man O Rose likes to be outside. If he’s inside he gets a little weird. Edwin (Maldonado) knows him well. If there’s a lot of pace or somebody rushing him, he just moves to the middle of the racetrack and brings him home.”