Jim Rome Remembers Shared Belief

Jim Rome thought he would eventually start to get over losing Shared Belief. The horse owner and syndicated sports talk radio star thought time would help.

On the eve of the first Shared Belief Stakes, however, Rome still hasn't gotten over the Candy Ride   gelding's death following colic surgery in December.

"When it all went down, I thought time would heal all wounds," Rome said. "But it'll never be all right."

Rome will broadcast his "Jim Rome Show" from Del Mar Aug. 26, hours before the Shared Belief Stakes—previously called the El Cajon—a $100,000 stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the main track, but admitted to being anxious leading up to the Friday festivities.

"As it gets closer, I'm getting anxious. It's going to be tough and it's going to be emotional," Rome said. "I know there's going to be a tribute and that they want me to say a few words. It's not because we're in the race. It's the horse."

An unabashed persona on television and radio, Rome still harkens back to that December morning, when he got the call from bloodstock agent and fellow owner Alex Solis II that the standout gelding had died. That message was followed by a call from Shared Belief's regular jockey, Mike Smith, and both broke into tears.

SHULMAN: Shared Belief Dies After Colic Surgery

"When I found out he passed, I still did the show," Rome remembered. "Then, after, I'm sitting at my desk, a 51-year-old man crying. My 10-year-old son had never seen me cry. That's what's hard about this. I'm getting choked up in the middle of the week."

Rome also can't help but wonder what could have been, especially with the recent success of California Chrome  . Foot issues that nagged Shared Belief throughout his career knocked him out of Triple Crown consideration, so he never had the opportunity to reach the level of media darling like California Chrome became, but the two raced against each other twice.

California Chrome finished third to Shared Belief's fourth in a troubled 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) run, but the nearly black gelding trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer turned the tables on the 2014 Horse of the Year to win the San Antonio Invitational (gr. II). Just more than two months later, Shared Belief was pulled up by Smith during the Charles Town Classic (gr. II) and was training toward a comeback when colic struck.

His career featured six grade I wins, including victories on synthetic footing (2013 CashCall Futurity, en route to champion 2-year-old male honors), at 1 1/4 miles (2014 Pacific Classic and 2015 Santa Anita Handicap), and sprinting (2014 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs).

"It's a reminder that he's not here," Rome said of California Chrome's recent wins. "I'm not going to lie and say there's not a sense of what could have been. He was 10-for-12 and was taken from everybody. You never know how he would have come back, but everything you asked of him, he did. He always came back like Shared Belief. It only reminds me of the rivalry that could have been."

In the Shared Belief Stakes Friday, there will be one jockey wearing the familiar black silks with a blue stripe of Rome's Jungle Racing, but it won't be Smith. Flavien Prat will don the colors best employed by Shared Belief in the race aboard 4-1 third choice Taman Guard, while Smith will be aboard fellow Hollendorfer trainee—and 3-1 favorite—Who's Out.

The ownership group for Taman Guard includes another one of Shared Belief's co-owners, Kevin Nish's KMN Racing, and when the group discussed whether to run the son of Midnight Lute   in a Del Mar allowance or the Shared Belief Stakes, there was no doubt where he'd land.

"You're always looking for the right spot for the right horse, but Kevin felt very strongly," Rome said. "He wanted to run in this race. If we can get a horse in the Shared Belief Stakes, we have to take a shot."

Who's Out may be the betting choice when the gates open Friday at Del Mar, but it won't be hard to find the sentimental favorite.