By Bloodhorse.com
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 21, 2017) — The mood around Barn 2 on the Gulfstream Park backstretch the morning of Jan. 21 was that of a class reunion. Old friends gathered—swapping memories, hugs, posing for pictures. There were tales of fantastical nature being told as they all came wanting to share a moment, an experience, a memory about the fiery chestnut horse pulling exercise rider Dihigi Gladney around the shedrow.
About the only figure seemingly unaffected by the sentimentality of the moment was said chestnut himself. For champion California Chrome , the fact he was stepping onto the track for the last timed workout of his storied career was something beyond his comprehension. With his blinkers affixed and Gladney playing the role of statue in the irons, the 2014 Horse of the Year put his head down and just did his usual thing, snatching the breath away from those who came to enjoy him while they can.
California Chrome’s final move before he makes his final start—in the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 28—was par for the course where the 6-year-old son of Lucky Pulpit is concerned: he ripped through five furlongs in :58 4/5 easy as he pleased.
As the lone horse on the Gulfstream track, as was the case a week ago when the champion drilled the same distance in 1:00.72, California Chrome left nothing on the table while readying to face a Pegasus field that is expected to include his Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) conqueror, Arrogate. With his ears pricked the entire way and Gladney sitting chilly, North America’s all-time leading money earner clicked off splits of :23.66 and :35.12, with a gallop out in 1:12.41.
“I said if he went in a minute and galloped out in :13 I’d be happy,” trainer Art Sherman said shortly after the move. “He’s ready. That was an awesome work. I thought the work was sensational, I really did. It was cruise control, we hardly ever press him to do anything. He was under hand and we were just very satisfied with the work.”
The wistful, but proud, gleam in Sherman’s eyes has been a permanent look for the venerable horseman of late. With California Chrome’s career reaching its last few moments before he retires to stud at Taylor Made Farm, his entire team has spent about as much time reflecting on the seven-time grade 1 winner as they have getting him set to attempt to avenge his Breeders’ Cup defeat.
“You know, I’m really happy that Chrome is what he is,” said Alan Sherman, son and top assistant to Art. “He deserves to go out and breed some mares, he doesn’t have anything else to prove. I’m just glad I was able to train him for all this time. The races we’ve won, the places he’s brought us … the whole ride has just been amazing.
“People like (Hall of Fame jockey) Walter Blum came and saw my dad this morning and they rode together 50 years ago. It’s just been great. It’s fun, but it is bittersweet.”
And it can still get better.
The rematch with Arrogate is something Art Sherman has been openly craving since his charge got caught by his big-striding rival in deep stretch of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the only loss California Chrome suffered from eight starts in 2016.
When asked what needs to happen for California Chrome to reverse that outcome on Jan. 28, Sherman joked ‘Just run faster.’ For all the nostalgia being tossed around the shedrow, however, those whose job it is to keep tabs on copper-coated beast are dead serious when they say he continues to unleash new levels of improvement even as he closes in on calling it a career.
“I think that was the best work I’ve ever seen him do,” said Frank Taylor of Taylor Made Farm, which co-owns California Chrome along with Perry Martin and other partners. “The way he did it … I knew it when I saw him this morning. He just looked like he was a balloon blowing up. It’s amazing. He knows when he’s getting ready to work and he just explodes. I think he’s really ready for this race.”
One of the most common questions Taylor gets asked these days is if the door is open just a crack for California Chrome to remain in training for all of 2017. With 120 mares already booked, according to Taylor, that last bit of hope is now closed.
None of that is a concern for the specimen who is favored to earn 2016 Horse of the Year honors. As California Chrome cooled out in good order and posed for every click of the camera his ears caught, it was clear it is still business as usual in the world as he knows it.
“I’ve never seen so many people love this horse the way they do with him,” Art Sherman said. “I think after he’s gone and he’s in the breeding shed, then we can look back and see all the plaques in my barn from all the big races. That will mean something.”