California Chrome acts like he's still fresh following Awesome Again victory

CYPRESS, Calif. – For a horse who had just run flat out for the first six furlongs of a 1 1/8-mile race and earned one of the fastest Beyer Speed Figures of his career, California Chrome on Sunday morning at Los Alamitos sure wasn’t acting like his performance the previous afternoon in the Awesome Again at Santa Anita had taken much out of him.

California Chrome was at the front of his double-wide stall at trainer Art Sherman’s barn, looking for the cookies he adores, and which Sherman had in ample supply.

“Most horses after a race like that would be at the back of their stall, resting. Not him,” Sherman said. “His eyes are clear, his ears are up.”

Clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose. California Chrome ran his 2016 campaign to a perfect 6 for 6, with three Grade 1 victories, in the Awesome Again. He received a Beyer Speed Figure of 112, one point shy of his career best.

In the Awesome Again, California Chrome was pressured early by Dortmund, and he set fractions of 22.76 seconds for the quarter-mile, 46.08 seconds for the half-mile, and 1:09.28 for six furlongs, all while breezing along under Victor Espinoza as Dortmund progressively came under increasing pressure from his jockey, Rafael Bejarano.

“What got me was that he was doing it with such ease – 23, 46, 1:09, and doing it like a workout,” Sherman said. “It seems like he’s getting stronger, which is kind of spooky.”

Espinoza took a peek back on the far turn as California Chrome drew away, and with the race put away a furlong out Espinoza let California Chrome coast to the wire, which Sherman appreciated.

“He did the right thing,” Sherman said. “Keep him fresh into the next race. I just have to keep him happy and fresh.”

That next race is the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 5. In addition to the first-prize money from that race, California Chrome is eligible for a $1 million bonus if he can add the BC Classic to prior victories in the Awesome Again and Del Mar’s Pacific Classic.

Sherman said he will follow the same training schedule leading up to the BC Classic as he did the Awesome Again. California Chrome will do all his serious training here at Los Alamitos. He will have his final workout exactly seven days before the race, and van over to Santa Anita six days out.

“I’m not changing anything,” Sherman said. “If it’s not broken, don’t change.”

Sherman said California Chrome would be walked for three days, then go back to the track on Wednesday.

“He’ll want to do something by then. He gets pretty strong,” Sherman said. “He’ll start to push you around, like he’s saying, ‘Let’s go.’ He’s a horse that loves to train.”

California Chrome returned to Los Alamitos Saturday night, a few hours after the Awesome Again. On Sunday morning, Alan Sherman – Art’s son and assistant – weighed California Chrome, and said he checked in at 1,090 pounds, only 12 below what he had weighed prior to the race, numeric proof that the race hadn’t taken a physical toll on him.

“He’ll put that right back on,” Alan Sherman said.