A Stronger 'Chrome' Returns to Classic

The racing story of California Chrome   could have ended after he earned 2014 Horse of the Year honors as a 3-year-old, a two-time classic winner whisked off to stallion duty.

It could have ended last year when he was not able to fully carry out a planned international campaign because of a cannon bone bruise; his final race of 2015 being a runner-up finish in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (UAE-I).

But in a sport that often leaves connections and fans dreaming about what a top horse could have done if allowed to race one more time or one more season, 5-year-old California Chrome has made those visions reality this year. He’s still here—in the flesh—as real as the dirt pelting defeated rivals in each of his first six starts of 2016.

And now California Chrome has a chance at redemption—the rarest of opportunities in today’s racing—when the son of Lucky Pulpit   starts in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park, the same race and site where he finished a close third to Bayern   in 2014.

Ultimately California Chrome had done enough in 2014—his effortless Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) victory followed by his Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) scores, and even a grade I win on turf after the Classic for good measure—to nail down Horse of the Year honors.

But California Chrome did have limitations. Kept inside by rivals in the 2014 Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) at Parx Racing, California Chrome fought the situation and failed to unleash his run. He would struggle home sixth. With that memory fresh in his mind, jockey Victor Espinoza would keep California Chrome three wide throughout the 2014 Classic—a race California Chrome lost by a neck.

Some horses do not get over such flaws. Others aren’t given an opportunity to overcome problems. California Chrome has been given an opportunity and seized it. He enters this year’s Classic off two straight grade I wins where he started from the rail, practically shouting “problem solved!” in his five-length TVG Pacific Classic Stakes win and his clear victory and Classic tune-up in the Awesome Again Stakes.

“I don’t know what happened to him, he must have had some bad experience down there at some point,” Espinoza said of the 2014 problems. “He’s pretty smart so he always remembers everything and maybe something happened.

“But over the years and over the races I think he got over that. Now, nothing bothers him. He just loves to run and he just wants to beat everyone.”

Espinoza has been California Chrome’s exclusive rider since his 3-year-old season. Now, like a poker player with three wild cards, Espinoza has nothing but options as he enters the Classic—the richest race ever contested in North America.

“It gives me more confidence than before because, before, I always had to be afraid of being inside or having someone block me,” Espinoza said. “Now it’s like, ‘Bring it on'.”

This actually will be the third time that California Chrome has started on a Breeders’ Cup day. The California-bred finished sixth against other state-breds in the Golden State Juvenile Stakes on the undercard of the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Friday card. Who would have guessed that day that California Chrome would go on to become the richest Cal-bred in history?

In the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Bayern scored the front-running win with second-place Toast of New York and third-place California Chrome just behind. Who would have guessed that day that California Chrome would go on to become the richest U.S.-based horse in history at $13.4 million and counting?

California Chrome didn’t make last year’s Classic as Triple Crown winner American Pharoah   put together the richest single-season for a U.S.-based horse in history, at $8,288,800 in earnings. Who would have guessed that a season later California Chrome would be in position to become the first U.S.-based horse to surpass $10 million in a single season?

Trainer Art Sherman has learned to put his horse in position to succeed, enjoy the ride, and let California Chrome point the way.

“In his workouts as a young horse he showed talent. Then he easily won (the San Felipe [gr. II]) leading up to the Santa Anita Derby and I said, ‘Wow, I might have a chance in the Santa Anita Derby.’ Then he won the Santa Anita Derby and I thought, ‘I think I have a chance in the Kentucky Derby.’ It’s been wild.”

He has outlasted surfaces; he has outlasted tracks. In 2013, California Chrome launched his career at Hollywood Park, its lakes and flowers now a construction site. He made his Del Mar debut on a Polytrack that has given way to a return to dirt. California Chrome is still here—better than ever—and Sherman loves seeing fans connect with him.

“It means so much for the fan base. That’s what has hurt (the sport). You’ll see the crowd on Saturday. Chrome brings 5,000 people around the paddock area," Sherman said. "It’s so overwhelming, they scream his name. And he looks at them to say, ‘Here I am folks, let’s get it on.’ He’s kind of on the ham side.”

Hours before the first race of the Friday, Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup World Championships card on a lovely morning of blue skies and white streaks of clouds at Santa Anita, fans lined up for photos in front of the Zenyatta statue—a horse who earned a Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) win at age 5 and a Horse of the Year title at age 6.