California Chrome works half-mile at Los Alamitos

CYPRESS, Calif. -- California Chrome, in his first workout since finishing sixth in the Pennsylvania Derby two weeks earlier, went a half-mile in 47.40 seconds on Saturday morning at Los Alamitos with his regular jockey, Victor Espinoza.

The work was the first of four that trainer Art Sherman has scheduled for California Chrome between now and the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 1. Sherman said California Chrome would work every Saturday morning, mirroring the schedule California Chrome had in the spring, when he trained at Los Alamitos prior to victories in the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby.

California Chrome came onto the track around 8:10 a.m., shortly after the mid-morning renovation break. He wore four pink polo bandages in honor of breast cancer awareness. Sherman’s wife, Faye, is a breast cancer survivor.

California Chrome was initially accompanied by a pony. After jogging with the pony, he broke away for the work, which he did alone. He came through the stretch with a final quarter-mile in less than 24 seconds, then galloped out with enthusiasm around the clubhouse turn. He was caught galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.20 by Russell Hudak, the chief clocker at Los Alamitos.

“I loved it,” Sherman said of the workout. “He’s been on the muscle ever since he got back from Pennsylvania.”

California Chrome wore his customary white blinkers for the workout.

“When he saw the blinkers at the front of his stall, he started bucking,” said Alan Sherman, Art’s son and top assistant.

“He’s been training real well,” Art Sherman said. “I think he got pissed off after his race in Pennsylvania. I can’t wait to get him back to Santa Anita. I think he’s going to run big. It’s going to be a tough race. I just want him to have a clean trip.”

California Chrome won six straight races, including the Preakness Stakes, but has lost his last two, the Belmont Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby.

Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and champion male 3-year-old are likely to be decided in the Classic, whose field is expected to include Shared Belief, Bayern, and Tonalist, all candidates, like California Chrome, for both awards.