California Chrome shines in final pre-Belmont work

Belmont Park: Track – Fast; Weather – Sunny; Temp – 63
Aqueduct: Track – Fast; Weather – Sunny; Temp – 63

ELMONT, N.Y. – Anybody looking for a chink in California Chrome’s armor heading into the Belmont Stakes certainly didn’t find one Saturday at Belmont Park, where the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner turned in an outstanding final workout a week in advance of his quest to complete the elusive Triple Crown sweep with a victory in the Belmont Stakes.

California Chrome was one of four potential Belmont starters to work at two separate venues Saturday. He sandwiched his brilliant four-furlong move in between impressive drills by Tonalist and Social Inclusion while a short while later, across town, Samraat breezed an easy mile in near total anonymity over his home track at Aqueduct.

The final times for the three Belmont workers were influenced by a lightning-fast main track, one which produced a large number of extremely swift drills throughout training hours here Saturday. In sharp contrast, the wind was swirling, and the surface was a lot looser when Samraat breezed about 15 minutes after the renovation break at Aqueduct. [bc_video_id:325857:]

Work of the day

California Chrome (four furlongs in 47.47 seconds) may not be the prettiest mover during routine morning gallops, but he was absolutely eye-catching in his only official workout since leaving California a week before winning the Derby. With jockey Victor Espinoza aboard, California Chrome settled into a smooth rhythm leaving the half-mile pole, posted an opening quarter in 24.14, then came home in 23.33 while travelling completely on his own. The best part of the work came after the wire, as California Chrome galloped out with tremendous energy, even with Espinoza rising up in the saddle shortly past the finish line, completing five-eighths in 59.59, six furlongs in 1:12.76, and seven-eighths in 1:26.34 before pulling up a mile in 1:40.92. “Perfect” would probably be the perfect word to describe California Chrome’s performance this morning.

Tonalist (five furlongs in 59.91), working in blinkers, broke off a couple of lengths in front of stablemate Life in Shambles as he had two works back, the pair open galloping away from the five-eighths pole in 14 and change before officially beginning the breeze at the half-mile marker. Tonalist relaxed through a 24.61 opening quarter, after which he was joined by his partner entering the stretch. The duo completed their final quarter in a sharp 23.06 with Tonalist under some urging to edge about a head in front of his well-held mate at the wire. Tonalist then maintained a similar margin while continuing to be nudged along to the end of the backstretch before willingly galloping out to the 1 1/4 pole on the clubhouse turn in 1:12.91. I get the impression Tonalist may not be the most eager work horse, which might be why trainer Christophe Clement sets him out in front of his mate to keep him from getting too eager early before giving him company to complete his work in the manner he did this morning.

Social Inclusion (four furlongs in 45.13), with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. up, broke off at the three-eighths pole, as is pretty much standard for horses trained by Manny Azpurua. The lightly raced colt was full of run from start to finish, completing three furlongs to the wire in 33.44 while reaching out the best I’ve seen him dating back to his earlier works at Gulfstream Park. He then continued on with great energy into the turn, galloping out five-eighths in a brilliant 57.57 and six panels in 1:10.93 before pulling up seven-eighths in 1:24.96. Social Inclusion, whose effort in the Preakness was extraordinary for an inexperienced horse who had lost five days of training in the weeks leading up to the race and had a bit of a meltdown on the way to the post, has had some lead-change issues since arriving at Belmont. He showed a similar propensity again this morning, switching back to his left lead inside the sixteenth pole. He also appeared to lose concentration just a bit, turning his head outward toward the infield shortly past the finish line, although Ortiz said that was Social Inclusion’s reaction to his attempts to make him change leads again at that point. This is one very talented 3-year-old, although it may be asking a lot, coming off a work of this nature, for him to stay 1 1/2 miles should his connections opt to run him next week in the Belmont.

Samraat (one mile in 1:47.43) worked in nearly total anonymity over a somewhat-cuppy surface and with the wind swirling at Aqueduct. With regular exercise rider Rodney Paine aboard, Samraat broke away from the mile pole in little more than a gallop while purposefully kept about four paths off the inner rail. Samraat dragged his rider through an opening six furlongs in 1:22.94, then responded readily when dropped closer to the fence and chirped to a bit upon settling into the stretch, covering his final quarter in 24.47 before galloping out another extremely strong eighth back to the mile marker in 12.17. Samraat did get a little warm prior to the drill, although he had gotten much hotter prior to breezing a swifter mile over the quicker Belmont strip one week earlier, and Paine said he felt Samraat was much more relaxed today. The final time of this move is irrelevant, considering the manner in which it was orchestrated, and it was encouraging to see Samraat finish up so willingly without need of much encouragement over the tiring strip.