Sherman Diary: Good to be Back

Art Sherman speaks to the press following the Belmont Stakes post position draw (Photo by NYRA/Coglianese Photos)
Art Sherman was 18 years old when he accompanied Swaps in a boxcar from California to Louisville to win the 1955 Kentucky Derby. He returned to Churchill Downs at age 77 as the trainer of California Chrome and has taken followers of America’s Best Racing every step of the way on a journey that has his sensational California-bred on the cusp of the first Triple Crown in 36 years and racing immortality.
Here is the first installment of his Belmont Stakes diary, written with Tom Pedulla:
Well, it is great to be in New York for our shot at history and to be back with California Chrome again. I left him in the good hands of my son, Alan, my top assistant, after his 1 ½-length victory against Ride On Curlin in the Preakness.
Fans may wonder why I would leave his side with so much at stake, but that reflects the level of confidence I have in Alan and our philosophy that all of our horses are worthy of great care and attention to detail. I have a string of horses at Los Alamitos, and I felt an obligation to those owners to see that their horses’ training needs were being met and that they were getting the best of everything.
While I was on the West Coast, I never felt far from Chrome. Given the time difference, Alan called me at 3:30 a.m. every day to give me a complete update. I also studied videos of him. Fortunately, the news was always good, especially after his sharp workout last Saturday at Belmont Park.
Victor Espinoza, who is undefeated with Chrome since I gave him the mount six races ago, wanted to be aboard to see for himself how the colt felt. He wanted to determine what, if anything, the Derby and the Preakness might have taken out of him. I was so happy when Victor told us he felt as strong as ever and galloped out as if there is plenty in the tank.
SHERMAN VISITS CALIFORNIA CHROME

Photo by NYRA/Susie Raisher
Still, there is nothing quite like eyeballing the horse yourself, so I was eager to get to Chrome’s stall when we arrived at Belmont Park on Monday afternoon. Chrome came to me as soon as he saw me, nuzzled me and then took a playful nip. I guess he was reminding me of who is really in charge. I was delighted by his actions; they all tell me he has settled in beautifully at Belmont and is feeling himself.
Reports that we pulled up in a black limousine are accurate. I had no problem squeezing through narrow openings when I was a jockey. I was as fearless as they come, willing to take any and all reasonable chances to win. But to deal with New York traffic and find my way around the city? No thanks. I decided it would be best to hire a driver for the week.
My wife loves Broadway shows. We are taking in several of them and plan to enjoy this week as much as possible. You can work yourself up into a heck of a state if you do nothing but think about the race. I am not about to let that happen.
I don’t feel I have much left to prove. Neither does the horse. In winning six consecutive stakes races by a combined 27 ½ lengths, there is no doubt that this is a special horse. We will find out on Saturday how special.

TRIPLE CHROME BOUND