By Bloodhorse.com
BETHSALEM, Pa. (Sept. 16, 2014) — Art Sherman, trainer of California-bred California Chrome, was a bit surprised to hear that Tapiture’s owner, Ron Winchell, had said earlier on a national teleconference Sept. 16 he would not have chosen the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) at Parx Racing Sept. 20 as the return race for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner.
“I don’t know that I’m looking forward to a rematch with California Chrome,” he said when discussing his homebred Tapiture, the 15th-place finisher of the Kentucky Derby, “but I do think he’s definitely vulnerable, and this is not where I would run him first time back. He has to go a mile and an eighth against horses who are in top form, and shipping cross country is not the ideal position to be in if you want to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I). We have to win this race to earn our way in. We have to do it the old-fashioned way, and we’re kind of sitting in prime position, coming off two wins.”
Winchell said he would not let the $100,000 bonuses awarded by Parx Racing to Sherman and owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn (for winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness) affect his decision where to run.
When Sherman came on the teleconference and was told of Winchell’s comments, he replied, “Really, where does he want us to run, in the Awesome Again (gr. I)? I guess they don’t believe in Shared Belief. But I want to be in the best shape possible when I meet him. He’s a terrific horse, and the Awesome Again is gonna come up a lot tougher than this race in my opinion. And why hook older horses before the Breeders’ Cup? I chose a million-dollar race over a $300,000 race.”
As for Shared Belief, Sherman is hoping to finally get the better of his longtime friend and rival Jerry Hollendorfer
“Jerry and I have gone back a long way,” Sherman said. “He keeps kicking my butt. It’s like Hertz and Avis; we’re always second best. But it’s always been a friendly rivalry. This time we’re gonna see who the bad dog in town is. With the Eclipse Award up for grabs, if you got the best horse you got the best horse.”
Although the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) is the ultimate goal, Sherman will not be pulling any punches on Saturday.
“I’m from the old school,” he said. I don’t want to run a short horse. They have a tendency to knock themselves out when you do. He lets you know where he wants to be. I just hope he has a clean trip and gets in the clear. I don’t like making excuses. If he gets outrun, he gets outrun. But I look for him to run a big race. I look for him to be right on.”
Winchell also is looking for a big effort from Tapiture, who has rebounded off his poor Derby effort, in which he lost a shoe on the first turn, with victories in the Matt Winn Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs and a gutsy nose score over Candy Boy in the West Virginia Derby (gr. II).
“You have to remember, he only turned 3 on (Kentucky) Derby Day. Because of his late birthday it’s taken him a little longer to mature. But in the West Virginia Derby he looked like a different horse physically. He’s strong and more mature. He showed a big punch in the stretch that was eye popping. I didn’t think he’d get there, but he just got up in the final stride.”
Winchell has been living a dream this year, with the leading 3-year-old filly Untapable, who runs in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (gr. I) on the same card as the Pennsylvania Derby, and still owning 50% of the shares in his super stud Tapit, the sire of Tapiture and Untapable who is the leading stallion in the country and a red-hot commodity at the yearling sales.
“We had high expectations for Tapit as a sire, because he’s well bred and was a phenomenal racehorse,” Winchell said. “But what he’s done is something you only dream about. We like to keep about 25 mares, and we’ve bred most of our mares to Tapit, but he’s become so fantastic a sire he has sort of outclassed the mares. So we have to go out and look for a few more mares to breed to him.”
Winchell said Untapable, easy winner of the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), Mother Goose Stakes (gr. I), Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) and Rachel Alexandra Stakes (gr. III), is also sitting on a big race after her fifth-place finish against the boys in the Haskell Invitational (gr. I).
“She’s done phenomenally since the Haskell,” Winchell said. “She had a rough trip in the Haskell and got away slowly, then had to go wide and was against a big speed bias. The speed duel up front just never materialized. In hindsight I probably would have probably taken a different route, but it seemed like the right decision at the time.
“I think Untapable and Tapiture are sitting on big efforts and we’re excited to see what happens on Saturday. Steve (trainer Asmussen) says both horses couldn’t be doing any better and are in the exact position you want to see them.”