Chrome report: Derby winner to ship out after last Kentucky gallop

In Louisville, Ky., California Chrome was among the first horses to step onto a fast Churchill Downs surface early Monday before being guided through a routine 1 1/2-mile gallop by exercise rider Willie Delgado.

California Chrome was sent earlier than normal by assistant trainer Alan Sherman so as to be fully prepared when a horse van picked up the colt at about 10 a.m. Eastern for the short ride to Lexington, from where he and 12 others would be flown to Baltimore via equine charter.

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“He’s happy, ready to go,” Sherman said as the colt was still cooling out before 7 a.m. “He’ll probably just jog [Tuesday] at Pimlico, andthen he’ll start back galloping the next day and on into the race.”

Sherman said California Chrome “lost a little weight out of the [Derby], like all horses do, but he’s gained it all back and a little bit more since then. We’re just trying to keep him fresh and happy. He’s such a nice horse. He’s made my job real easy.”