California Chrome Arrives in Pa.

By Bloodhorse.com

BETHSALEM, Pa. (Sept. 17, 2014) — Dual classic winner California Chrome arrived on the backstretch at Parx Racing Sept. 16 ahead of his bid in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) Sept. 20.

Assistant trainer Alan Sherman was at track to meet the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner, who settled him into Barn 10.
California Chrome is tabbed as the even money favorite on the morning line for Pennsylvania Derby. He was joined on the Tex Sutton flight from California by Pennsylvania Derby entrants, Bayern, the 7-2 second choice and winner of the William Hill Haskell (gr. I) for trainer Bob Baffert and the John Sadler-trained Candy Boy (12-1) as well as Jojo Warrior, also trained by Baffert, who has arrived for the $1 million Cotillion (gr. I) for 3-year-old fillies, also on Saturday.
Sherman said that California Chrome, owned by Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, and trained by Alan’s father, Art Sherman, was loaded on a van at Los Alamitos Race Course in California at 2:00 a.m. PDT Tuesday morning and was taken to Ontario Airport for the flight to Lexington. Following a refueling, the plane arrived in the early afternoon at Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton Airport in Pennsylvania and was then vanned to Parx in Bensalem outside of Philadelphia.
“He looks great, bouncing around the shed row, eating up right now, so I was happy the way he traveled,” Sherman told reporters outside the barn.
When asked about drawing the No. 1 post position, Sherman commented, “Nobody wants the one hole, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
When asked about the selection of Pennsylvania Derby for his first race since finishing fourth in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on June 7 in his failed bid to become racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner, Sherman said, “The timing is perfect for getting him ready for the Breeders’ Cup.”
California Chrome is scheduled to go to the track Wednesday morning between 8:30-9:00 a.m., a time slot reserved exclusively for starters in the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion. Sherman said that California Chrome will jog once around the track to get familiar with the surroundings and will gallop on Thursday.
When asked about next year, Sherman said, “As of now he’s going to run as a 4-year-old.”

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