Chrome Diaries: The Next Chapter

After having over a week and a half to sleep as much as I wanted, hearing my alarm at 4 a.m. on Saturday was a harsh return to reality that, sadly, left its mark on me for the rest of the day. When you get used to living like a “regular” human, getting back to life at the track will wear you out.  So much so, that my afternoon consisted of an exceptionally long nap, which dampened my creative spark and delayed this blog post. (When we are on the road at a race, the team calls this getting “Chromed.”)
I had braced for the cold as I walked from the horsemen’s parking lot just as the sun was coming up, donning extra layers, warm socks and gloves to keep warm until the mercury started to rise. When I reached the barn and wished the team Happy New Year, almost everyone was bundled from head to toe, including exercise riders Willie Delgado and Anna Wells, and assistant trainer Alan Sherman.
The notable exception to the trend of additional winter insulation was groom, Raul Rodriquez. For the entire morning, as he worked with his hands in buckets of soapy water, I did not see one glimpse of discomfort from him as he completed his daily chores, wearing the same lightweight layers as he had in late fall. While he is not one to complain, or even ask for anything, Raul also rarely stops moving, as he attends to cleaning stalls and other duties around the barn.  
I grabbed what my husband refers to as a “Jesus donut” (because, he says, “If Jesus were to make a donut, this is what it would taste like …”) from the bench outside the office and turned to walk back to the track to watch some Sherman Racing trainees before the morning break. On my way I encountered a couple of barn cats, huddled together for warmth and hardly budging an inch when I approached to give them each a scratch behind the ears.

The general consensus from everyone I encountered was “brrrr!”  My fingers were cold in just the few minutes that I had them out of my gloves to take a some photos, as the thermometer hovered around 45 degrees and the damp morning air hung heavy around me.
As the track was groomed during the morning break, jockey Victor Espinoza arrived and the team quickly got champion colt California Chrome ready for his morning workout.  By Thoroughbred racing standards, Chrome is now a 4-year-old, although he was foaled February 18, 2011.  

All Thoroughbred racehorses in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate their birthday on January 1 (In the Southern Hemisphere, on August 1). This is to apply standardization to the breed and make it easy to determine when and in what races horses may compete, based on the conditions of the race. (The Triple Crown races, for example, are open ONLY to 3-year-olds - so horses have only one shot at competing for this prize.)
Watching as Chrome stepped from his stall and was walked into the yard, it was clear that he was enjoying the crisp morning air and was ready to work. I walked to the gap in the track with my friend Jay Hovdey, an award-winning writer for the Daily Racing Form, as we chatted about the intelligence of this particular Thoroughbred. 
Chrome, with blinkers on, was “one the muscle” for sure, ready to hit the track, and Jay said that Chrome knew the difference of today compared to other days. We both remarked how he knows when he is heading toward a race, and Jay even noted that Chrome knows the difference of when I am there, shooting photos of him and his team.

Regardless of all this, the colt was bright eyed, alert and extremely playful as he stood waiting to step onto the dirt, trying relentlessly to get a nibble of his escort pony, Marzipan. When they took the track, Chrome was light on his feet and practically skipped down the stretch as Victor got him warmed up for his six furlong workout. Standing straight up in the stirrups at times, the jockey tried to keep his mount calm and his strides even as they came around the turn, and when they broke away from their escort, they quickly found the fluid, graceful stride that always strike me as more of a playful gallop than anything else.

Finishing his work in a respectable 1:12.60, Victor slowed Chrome to a lope as they made their way around the oval track before walking back to the barn to finish cooling out. When I caught up with them, Victor was asking Willie how he keeps Chrome at a calm gallop on days when he is just training. Willie replied that he has to use his entire body and all the strength he has, while talking to his mount in quiet Spanish (Yes, Chrome is bilingual!)  Victor chuckled as the two compared notes on how this horse has tested their mettle with each workout, as he grows and matures.
After an uneventful bath - other than a brief scolding from Florentina when he got too feisty - Chrome was back in his stall, munching on his oats and periodically sticking his head out of his stall to say hello, letting me stroke his head before ducking back in for another mouthful.

As I leaned back on the fence rail with Raul, we chatted about the time the groom has spent with this horse.  While Raul is fond of all the horses in his care, this boy is special, and Raul has been with him since the day he arrived to begin training with Sherman Racing as a 2-year-old.  As we discussed the possibility of a Breeders’ Cup Classic rematch next month, the groom’s eyes sparkled and a big smile came across his face.  He expressed his hope that the top contenders race with Chrome in the San Antonio Stakes on Feb. 7 at Santa Anita to inaugurate their 4-year-old campaigns.

The next stop for Team Chrome will be non-race events. On Jan. 10, Chrome’s owners will accept the Secretariat Vox Populi Award in a ceremony to be held at Santa Anita and a week later Chrome’s connections will gather at Gulfstream Park for the 44th Annual Eclipse Awards, where jockey, trainer, owner, 3-year old and Horse of the Year honors will be presented, along with a slew of other awards. I’ll keep you posted as training continues to go smoothly and we look forward to an eventful 2015.