Chrome report: Easy going for Derby winner before shipping Monday

Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome came onto the track for his daily routine early Sunday morning. Under regular exercise rider Willie Delgado, the colt spent about 20 minutes on the track, backtracking to the wire in a jog, then galloping about 1 3/4 miles. As usual, everything was accomplished rather slowly, carefully, and without incident.

“I just let him take his time, do whatever he feels like,” said Delgado. “He’s a rock star. Sometimes I’ll just let him stand for 10 or 15 minutes before we do anything. I say, ‘You’re the Kentucky Derby winner. You can do what you want.’ ”

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Alan Sherman, who is deputizing here for his father, trainer Art Sherman, said he expected to have California Chrome among the first horses on the track Monday at 6 a.m. Eastern. Sherman said he wants to have everything ready for the colt to ship out of Churchill at about 10 a.m. for a scheduled early-afternoon equine charter flight out of Lexington, Ky. There are two Kentucky flights booked for Baltimore this week, with the second one leaving Wednesday morning.

California Chrome is expected to be an odds-on favorite in a prospective field of about 10 in the 139th Preakness. Last Saturday, the chestnut colt prevailed as a 5-2 favorite to become the first California-bred since 1962 to win the Derby and the only horse to keep alive hope at becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years.