Sherman: California Chrome likely to bypass Champions Cup in Japan

DEL MAR, Calif. – Art Sherman was at Del Mar on Thursday morning, setting up the few stalls he’ll use to run out of during the fall meeting here. Like most trainers for this season, he’ll keep his main string in place at its usual residence and ship in to run.

Sherman is based at Los Alamitos, and though he was here Thursday, he was in constant contact with his son, Alan, his top assistant. Front and center in their discussion was California Chrome, who finished a close third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, returned to the track at Los Alamitos for a jog Wednesday, and galloped Thursday.

Sherman said he’s elated that “it looks like he’ll run as a 4-year-old.” He’d like California Chrome’s next start not to come until 2015, but California Chrome has been invited to the Champions Cup – formerly known as the Japan Cup Dirt – on Dec. 7. Sherman said he spoke with co-owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn about the trip and expressed his wish to bypass the race.

“I’d like to keep him fresh, give him a chance,” Sherman said. “The horse ain’t a machine. He’s had a long year. He wouldn’t be able to run with a nasal strip, Lasix, Bute. It’s just too much to go to Japan for me. I’d rather wait and point for something like the Santa Anita Handicap.”

There are other hurdles. According to the Japan Racing Association, all foreign horses must arrive in Japan by Nov. 27 and be quarantined until Dec. 2 at a facility two hours from the nearest international airport in Osaka. Runners would not move to Chukyo Racecourse, located near Nagoya, a three-hour van ride from the quarantine area, until Dec. 3.

The Champions Cup is run at 1,800 meters – approximately 1 1/8 miles – on a left-handed dirt course for a purse just shy of $2 million.

In addition to the first-prize money of almost $1 million, California Chrome would be eligible for bonuses of $500,000 for first, $200,000 for second, and $130,000 for third because of his wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Other U.S.-based horses invited to the Champions Cup were Bayern, Cigar Street, Imperative, Lea, Majestic Harbor, and Zivo.