By Bloodhorse.com
HALLANDALE, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2017) — On an unseasonably cold morning in South Florida, Pegasus World Cup (G1) contender California Chrome paid his first visit to the Gulfstream Park main track Jan. 8 with a spirited jog.
With his regular exercise rider Dihigi Gladney aboard, California Chrome, who arrived at Gulfstream from Southern California Jan. 6, hit the track at 5:45 a.m. The temperature at the time was in the mid-40s with a strong and persistent northerly wind. After jogging once counter-clockwise around the track, Gladney advised assistant trainer Alan Sherman that the 6-year-old needed another spin around the oval to take the edge off.
“That’s why we ended up jogging him twice, just because he has been off three days,” Gladney explained. “They walked him yesterday after he got here on Friday, so I knew today was going to be tough. And this weather today was not my best friend, either. But you know what? He’s the type of horse that has energy, regardless. He doesn’t care whether it’s 100 degrees or 30 degrees. He’s just one of those horses. He’s gentle to ride, but he’s that type of horse who knows who he is. He’s on it.”
California Chrome’s training at Gulfstream for the $12 million Pegasus Jan. 28 is being supervised by Sherman, the son and assistant of trainer Art Sherman, who will arrive in Florida around the time of the Eclipse Awards Jan. 21. California Chrome is a finalist for Horse of the Year, which he won in 2014.
“He was feeling really good, so we decided to take him another lap,” Alan Sherman said. “It’s easier on everybody when he gets a little bit out of it. Otherwise he just feels so good and gets a little tough to handle. That cold wind hitting him in the butt probably set him off a little bit.”
The inaugural running of the Pegasus, the world’s richest race, is expected to showcase the eagerly anticipated rematch between California Chrome and Arrogate, who defeated the chestnut by a half-length in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park Nov. 5.
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Alan Sherman said he’s eager for California Chrome to again face Arrogate, an Eclipse Award finalist for champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year.
“I want to run against Arrogate. I hope he comes,” Alan Sherman said.
California Chrome, who will be retired to stud following the Pegasus, will gallop the rest of the week. He is scheduled for a timed work of five furlongs Jan. 14 with Gladney aboard.