California Chrome Remains Untarnished

June 8, 2014

Dear Readers,

            Bummer! Oh well, that’s why it’s so hard to run in all three Triple Crown races, let alone win them all. I’m not going to comment on the verbal shenanigans going on all over the airways yesterday and today. I would wager my odds, for garnering negative criticism, would be far shorter than those of California Chrome. But having said that, it is my blog, and I can say what I want. So I choose to take a look at some remarkable images that have surfaced after the race.

            If you want to write a script and include the perfect excuse for California Chrome failing to win the Belmont Stakes and thus the Triple Crown, start by going to Google and do a search using: California Chrome and Matterhorn start, and then select images. Now look at the images frame by frame. Clearly there was contact.

            Matterhorn’s rider, Joe Bravo is standing up in the stirrups and trying to pull his horse off of California Chrome. Matterhorn’s left leg is stuck under California Chrome and behind his right leg.

            Next frame, California Chrome’s right leg is at an unnatural angle, his head is going down and his rider is desperately trying to pull it up and steady his horse. This would be where the inside right bulb of California Chrome’s hoof was nearly torn completely off. From what I can see, it is unlikely that they will be able to leave that piece attached. It will have to be removed and it will take some time for it to grow out. It’s not a life threatening injury and in fact the whole incident could have been far worse.

            Instead of criticizing Victor Espinoza, people should be showering him as well as Joe Bravo with accolades. This incident out of the gate could have, and it’s a wonder it didn’t, resulted in a spectacular spill. Instantaneous reflexes by two very talented riders secured the safety of both their mounts and tragedy was averted.

            Just take the time to reflect on the last seven weeks leading up to and through the Triple Crown. Try to remember that for one brief shining moment, there was a country mesmerized by the glory and wonder of a brilliant chestnut star.

            California Chrome’s star remains untarnished for me, and I hope for all of you reading this, that you feel the same way. He is just a horse, a horse who gives his all every time he is asked to run, and no matter what comments are said…California Chrome neither reads them nor hears them.

Take care,

Shelley Riley, Author of Casual Lies – A Triple Crown Adventure

www.shelleyriley.com

California Chrome - Belmont Stakes - Gone with the Wind

June 6, 2014

Dear Readers,

            “After all, tomorrow is another day,” declared Scarlett O’hara at the end of Margaret Mitchell’s, Gone with the Wind.

            Tomorrow is the day. The day which I hope, with a good many others, that California Chrome will indeed be gone with the wind.  

            Scarlett declared, “I will find a way to win him back.” It’s been thirty-six years since owners and trainers of top level Thoroughbreds have been able to find a way to win all three, back to back races, and go home with the Triple Crown.

            I’m not going to handicap the field looking for another horse, one who might be able to outrun the horse that I want to win. While I know, as well as any other trainer of Thoroughbreds, that these critters stay up nights to ruin our days, until California Chrome crosses that wire in front on Saturday, there are no guarantees.

            For me, the best indicator, I’ve seen from afar, that California Chrome is right and ready for this race, was the look on Victor Espinoza’s face, as he and the pony rider back-tracked after last Saturday’s workout over the Belmont strip. You couldn’t have wiped that grin off his face with battery acid. It wasn’t a smile for the camera’s, it was a grin that starts somewhere in the middle of your being, and bursts out like the sun after a hurricane.

            Will California Chrome wake up on the right side of the stall tomorrow? Will he clean up his feed? Will he jog around the track and get back to the barn without getting hurt. Will he handle the crush of people? Can he go the distance? Will he get away clean out of the gate? Will he get in trouble during the race?  In other words…can something go wrong?

            Can California Chrome get outrun? I’m going to channel Scarlett and say, “I can’t think about that right now. If I do I’ll go crazy, I’ll think about that tomorrow.”

            Have fun horse racing fans. This could be a glorious moment, a bright shiny moment. This could be the moment, where the beautiful part of horse racing, the animal himself, can bring joy into the hearts of so many.

            Win or lose, this horse has already brought joy into my heart. I will be cheering along with an estimated eleven hundred people at the Pleasanton off track betting facility, where I’ve been invited to sign copies of my memoir.

Take care,

Shelley Riley, Author of Casual Lies – A Triple Crown Adventure

www.shelleyriley.com