California Chrome Ready for the Belmont
Image:
Description:
Photo by NYRA/Chelsea Durand
A day after his impressive final breeze before the Belmont Stakes, California Chrome was feeling good when walking the shed row this morning.
"Chrome came out of the work in great shape," said Alan Sherman, son and assistant of trainer Art Sherman. "He was pulling [exercise rider] Willie [Delgado] around the shed row this morning. Everything is cold and tight and we're ready for Saturday."
Ride On Curlin, who finished second to California Chrome in the Preakness Stakes put in his breeze this morning, working seven furlongs in 1:28.03. Trainer Billy Gowan was happy with the work, which he watched with Ride On Curlin’s new jockey John Velazquez. Velazquez won both the 2007 and 2012 Belmont Stakes and will be Ride On Curlin’s third jockey of the Triple Crown series.
Ride On Curlin will walk the shedrow on Monday and return to the track on Tuesday.
"We'll just gallop him easy. He doesn't need much," Gowan said. "We'll probably take him slow every day, and just keep him happy. I'm just happy with the way my horse is going. We come in every morning, and he's hollering for his feed. He's just a tough horse."
Wicked Strong, fourth in the Kentucky Derby, also worked on Sunday. The colt breezed five furlongs in 59.10 seconds, the fastest of the five horses to work the distance on Belmont’s training track. Wicked Strong was breezing behind 2013 Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice and the 3-year-old colt’s trainer thought he may have seen last year’s victor in front of him during the breeze.
"It was a little fast, but [exercise rider Kevin Pahal] saw me put my hand up to slow down, and he did,” trainer Jimmy Jerkins said. “He didn't pull him back, but he didn't urge him any. It looked like he saw [Palace Malice and Celebrator] ahead of him and really got into gear around the turn and was approaching them fast, which is why I slowed him down. Sometimes they [catch horses ahead of them]. You don't mind them doing it if [the other horses] are only a few lengths in front, but when they are six lengths in front it's a different story. But it was good. I'm happy with it."
POTENTIAL BELMONT STARTERS
Horse
Owner
Trainer
California Chrome
Steven Coburn & Perry Martin
Art Sherman
Commanding Curve
West Point Thoroughbreds
Dallas Stewart
Commissioner
WinStar Farm
Todd Pletcher
Kid Cruz
Vina Del Mar TBs & Black Swan Stb.
Linda Rice
Matterhorn
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners
Todd Pletcher
Matuszak
C R K Stable
Bill Mott
Medal Count
Spendthrift Farm
Dale Romans
Ride On Curlin
Daniel J. Dougherty
Billy Gowan
Samraat
My Meadowview Farm
Richard Violette Jr.
Social Inclusion
Rontos Racing Stable
Manny Azpurua
Tonalist
Robert S. Evans
Christophe Clement
Wicked Strong
Centennial Farm
Jimmy Jerkens
General a Rod
Starlight Racing
Mike Maker
Commanding Curve also had his first and only work on Belmont’s main track on Sunday. He covered four furlongs in 47.38, the third fastest of the distance. While he is trained by Dallas Stewart, he worked with trainer Tom Albertrani’s Cost Effective, who finished about a length behind him. Commanding Curve is looking to upset the Triple Crown after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby.
Todd Pletcher worked his Belmont hopefuls Commissioner and Matterhorn together with the pair working four furlongs in 49.86 and 49.90, respectively.
Matuszak also put in his final work, breezing five furlongs in 1:00.94 for trainer Bill Mott. It was the fourth straight five furlong work for the colt over Belmont’s main track. Two of those works were bullets, with Matuszak working 59.88 on May 12 and 59.70 on May 19. Mott admits that Matuszak is a long shot but believes he is coming around at the right time. He won the 2010 Belmont with Drosselmeyer.
Tonalist, who worked yesterday, jogged 1 ½ miles and went to the gate this morning.