‘Triple Chrome’ Not Meant to Be, Tonalist Plays Spoiler
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Tonalist closed powerfully to win the Belmont Stakes on June 7 at Belmont Park. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
by Tom Pedulla, America's Best Racing
ELMONT, N.Y. – Greatness denied.
California Chrome became the 13th horse to come to New York in pursuit of racing’s holy grail and fall short since Affirmed last won the Triple Crown in 1978.
To the great disappointment of a massive crowd at Belmont Park on Saturday, Tonalist rallied to take the 146th Belmont Stakes by a head from Commissioner. California Chrome, the beloved California-bred, never unleashed the overpowering move that had enabled him to sweep six consecutive stakes races by a combined margin of 27 ½ lengths. He finished in a dead heat with Wicked Strong for fourth.
“We reached almost to the top, one step away,” said downcast jockey Victor Espinoza. “It’s tough for California Chrome to come back in three weeks and run a mile and a half. This race is just tough.”
Espinoza said he could sense a worrisome difference in his mount in the early going. “As soon as he came out of the gate, he was not the same,” he said.
Still, Espinoza managed to have Chrome within striking distance for the stretch run. But the colt that had spurted away from the field at the top of the stretch in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness did not pack any punch as Espinoza desperately asked for more.
“He was just a little bit empty today,” Espinoza said.
After the race, trainer Art Sherman said that California Chrome grabbed a quarter (VIDEO) coming out of the starting gate, which could have played a part in the fourth-place finish.
Dale Romans, trainer of third-place finisher Medal Count, saluted the fans who poured through the turnstiles to attend a card totaling $8 million in purses, the richest day in the history of Belmont Park.
“It’s unbelievable the way this New York crowd came out here and supported our sport, and I want them to know how much we truly appreciate it,” Romans said. “It’s about being around greatness, and California Chrome is greatness. It proves people here still appreciate the greatness of the game.”
Chrome suffered his first defeat since last Nov. 1, when he ran sixth in a stakes race restricted to California-breds at Santa Anita Park. Espinoza, who missed a Triple Crown shot when War Emblem stumbled at the start of the Belmont Stakes in 2002, replaced Alberto Delgado as the horse’s regular rider after that.
Winning trainer Christophe Clement may have nailed the key to the outcome when he said, “I always believe in pedigree. At some point, pedigree kicks in.”
Tonalist is a son of Tapit and his dam (mother), Settling Mist, is by 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Pleasant Colony. It had been an element of Chrome’s charm that he was modestly bred. His dam, Love the Chase, was purchased for $8,000 by Steve Coburn and Perry Martin. They paid a $2,000 fee to breed her to Lucky Pulpit.
The extension of the longest drought since Sir Barton became the first to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1919 is certain to fuel debate about whether the format should be changed.
“This is not fair to these horses,” Coburn, co-owner of California Chrome, shouted during a post-race television interview.
Coburn also said: “I’m 61 years old and I will never see another Triple Crown because of the way they do this.” He suggested that only Derby starters be allowed to compete in the remaining two legs. He said of the introduction of fresh horses to the series, “This is a coward’s way out.”
Tom Chuckas, president of the Maryland Jockey Club, is urging that the spring classics be spread over three months. Under Chuckas’ plan, the Derby would remain on the first Saturday in May, the Preakness would occur on the first Saturday in June and the Belmont on the first Saturday in July.
Robert S. Evans, owner of Tonalist, is another voice in favor of abandoning the current three-races-in-five-weeks structure. “I actually think it would be better for the sport, it would be better for the horses and better for promoting it,” he said.
Asked if giving horses more time between the demanding races would make it easier for the Triple Crown to be achieved, Evans replied, “I don’t know. Things change in the world.”
Tonalist, meanwhile, appears to be a star in the making after battling his way to a Belmont victory in only his fifth career start and in his first Grade 1 effort. He paid $20.40 for a $2 win wager. He completed 1 ½ miles in 2:28.52.
“He has one long stride and he just grinds it and keeps on going and going, keeps on coming,” said winning jockey Joel Rosario. “And he got the job done today.”
Evans acknowledged that the triumph was bittersweet. “We loved California Chrome. We hoped he’d win the Triple Crown,” he said. “But we love our horse, too.”