Friday, September 19, 2014

California Chrome - In It to Win

September 19, 2014

Dear Readers,

     I’ve not hesitated over the course of 2014, to share my enthusiasm for California Chome. Feelings  which ranged from amazement, to complete respect, and over the year these feelings have matured. 

     What a major coup for Parx Racing in Bensalem, to get California Chrome’s connections to commit to the Grade II Pennsylvania Derby. Their grandstand will be heaving by the time the horse’s line up in the starting gate to contest the one-mile and one-eighth distance. The eventual winner will take home the lion’s share of the $1,000,000 dollar purse.

     So what do I think? I think this is a talented field of horses.  Tons of speed and bucket loads of class abound. But then that describes Chrome, doesn’t it?

     Of course, opinions exist in large numbers, and I write this blog to express my own. So here goes. First I can’t fault Art Sherman and his team, for anything they have done with this horse. Obviously they are privy to things the rest of the world is not. Turning the horse out at a Harris Farm where the staff was familiar with the horse was brilliant. Chrome didn’t just stand in a stall and then jog around the training track, he was let down to the point where they could turn him out in a pasture, and they just let him be a horse.  

     Working Chrome between races at Los Alamitos was the next brilliant move. Talk about a good work, and with the crowd cheering his every stride? Better than a race, at least by my way of thinking. Chrome jogged off the track looking and feeling like a winner.

     Now he’s been shipped to Pennsylvania to hook, arguably, some of the best three-year-olds on the east coast. Not a good idea? Well I say, why not? When you get to the level this horse is at, there are no easy races. Do you really think anybody would have filled a conditioned allowance race written to accommodate California Chrome? Not likely.

     So here’s the field:

1.       California Chrome – Everything that could be said has been said about the horse. I don’t think Sherman and crew have any other outcome in mind, other than a first place finish. They didn’t take him all the way there, just to give him a race. And yet, having said that, I think if he comes up short, they won’t be disappointed if he runs competitively.

2.      Candy Boy – What a nice colt, and he sure has been getting lined up against the best. In the Mountaineer he was pretty flat footed when he came out of the gate. Hustled up into contention, he then stayed on the outside for the entire race. This overland route kept Candy Boy out of trouble, as compared to the eventual winner who got in all kinds of trouble.

3.      Protonico – Lightly raced, looked good overcoming problems in the Smarty Jones to win. He would be a surprise. I love his pedigree.

4.      Bayern – My goodness that last race was a clunker. I know the fractions were fast, but to me this horse never looked comfortable. They didn’t chart him as having been eased, but he sure looked like he was right on the ragged edge of it. I’m surprised to see him in here. Maybe he hated Saratoga’s surface.

5.      Noble Moon – Might be a bit overmatched in here. He’s a nice horse, no doubt, but I think at best, he might get up in time for a piece of it.

6.      Classic Giancroll – Another nice horse who also looks a bit overmatched. Would be a surprise for me if he were to win it.

7.      Tapiture – This horse got mugged twice in his last race. Once in the first turn, and then a total smack down in the lane, and still he got up in time to win.

8.     C J’s Awesome – And he may very well be awesome, but I don’t see him upsetting this field. He does have a little speed. 

Looking critically at the field, there is no reason California Chrome can’t win this race. If he doesn’t win, I sure hope he’s close, because other than Tapiture, Candy Boy and Bayern, the remainder of the field shouldn’t outrun him, even in a comeback race after a layup.

Art has to be nervous, despite the way the form handicaps. As a trainer you do what you can and then the race is run. Sometimes you drive home exhausted and downcast. Other times it’s a good thing there’s a roof on the car, otherwise you’d float right on out.

I’m glad Shared Belief didn’t come back for this race. If California Chrome wins the Pennsylvania Derby and Shared Belief wins his next race at Santa Anita, the Breeder’s Cup Classic could be monumental.

I’ll be clinging to the television tomorrow, and I hope to be dazzled.   

Take care,

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

www.shelleyriley.com 

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