Coburn finds himself in a different place with California Chrome

It was midmorning on June 7, many hours before his horse, California Chrome, was to attempt to become Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner, and owner Steve Coburn was in the box seats at Belmont Park. Fans below him on the apron were waving and shouting to him, throwing memorabilia his way for him to sign.

“I was signing autographs, talking to people, waving to the crowd – it was a lot of fun,” Coburn recalled this week in a phone interview.

The fun ended some eight hours later, when California Chrome finished in a dead heat for fourth in the Belmont Stakes, 1 3/4 lengths behind 9-1 winner Tonalist. In a post-race interview, Coburn cried foul, claiming it was unfair for a horse such as Tonalist, who didn’t compete in either the Kentucky Derby or Preakness, to run in the Belmont.

“It’s all or nothing because this is not fair to these horses that have been running their guts out for these people and for the people who believe in them,” Coburn said right after the race. “This is the coward’s way out, in my opinion.”

It only got worse the following day, when Coburn, still fuming, made an unfortunate analogy in another nationally televised interview.

“They hold out two [races] and then come back and run one,” he said. “That would be like me at 6-2 ... playing basketball with a kid in a wheelchair.”

On June 9, two days after the loss, Coburn, with his wife, Carolyn, sitting alongside him, went on “Good Morning America” to apologize for his remarks.

Three months later, Coburn is more interested in looking forward than looking back.

“I said what I had to say, I apologized for everything,” Coburn said. “Everything has slowed down. Things have been back to normal since two or three weeks after the Belmont.”

Things speed back up this weekend, when California Chrome heads an eight-horse field entered Monday to run in Saturday’s Grade 2, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx. The race not only marks the return of California Chrome but of Coburn, both of whom arrived in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

“Saturday’s a different race. There’s not as much pressure on us as there was then,” said Coburn, who owns California Chrome in partnership with Perry Martin, who prefers to remain mostly silent. “That Triple Crown is pretty tough on everybody involved, not just the horse – everybody. It is what it is. We’re glad to be back in the game again.”

Coburn’s comments overshadowed the fact that California Chrome had actually run a pretty good race in the Belmont. He got stepped on early in the race and had a sizeable gash on his right front hoof.

Coburn’s comments also dulled what had been a pretty popular story. The California-bred California Chrome came from humble beginnings as his sire, Lucky Pulpit, stood for $2,500. His dam, Love the Chase, who wasn’t very talented on the track, was purchased by Coburn and Martin for $8,000.

California Chrome is trained by the 77-year-old Art Sherman, a likeable man who had been the exercise rider for 1955 Kentucky Derby winner Swaps.

As Sherman sees it, Coburn’s comments were unfortunate but had no impact on the popularity of California Chrome, who drew a large crowd to watch one of his workouts in between races at his home base of Los Alamitos.

“Not the horse’s popularity, it might have hurt Steve’s a little bit,” Sherman said Tuesday on a national conference call. “But people forget. He really did say something that was out of context. Sometimes you get all bummed out, and don’t forget this is the first horse they’ve ever had to run. It’s not like they’ve been in the game a long time. We know things can happen. It’s been a great ride. I’m sure if he had to say it again, he’d never do that.”

Coburn believes that despite the loss in the Belmont, the aftermath, and the colt’s long absence from the races, California Chrome remains as popular now as he was in the spring.

“He’s still who he is. He’s America’s horse. Everybody loves him. They can’t wait to watch him run again,” Coburn said. “We all feel the same way. He’s doing what he loves to do. All we can hope for is he’s healthy and happy.

“I was hoping he’d win the Triple Crown for the horse-racing industry and all of America,” Coburn added. “It didn’t happen. He got stepped on right out of the gate. We did not know that until later. Saturday’s a different race, a different place.”