Bits and Pieces according to ZATT

Not so fast, my friends. It turns out California Chrome is not going to be ushered off to the breeding shed faster than you can say, “Taylor Made” after all. It seems Art Sherman is tickled pink having received the news that the horse of his training career will come back to him after about three months of healing time in Kentucky’s bluegrass. Hopefully this announcement will ring true come 2016, because if it does, we will all enjoy a terrific horse coming back to race as a mature five-year-old, with a fantastic man overseeing his training. Good news all the way around.

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Speaking of a mature horse making it back to the races, how about that Gabriel Charles? It seems like a lifetime ago when I was so very impressed by a strapping young two-year-old who exploded at the top of the Santa Anita lane to run away from a representative field in some race called the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Preview, or some such. At the time, I thought that he was one horse with a big turf future. A powerful win in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby, and a flying finish to be second in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby were partial validation of this expectation, but they were two of only three races Gabriel Charles would compete in as a sophomore. A bowed tendon later, and the Jeff Mullins trainee finally made it back to the races this April. Nice to see that his connections stuck with him through the 17 month gap in between races, and it looks like their patience is being rewarded. After a pair of decent comeback races, we saw the real Gabriel Charles back in all his turf glory in yesterday’s Grade 1 Eddie Read. Now five, and still with only seven lifetime turf starts under his girth, there is no telling how good he could be. I’m also happy to report that he has been named ZATT’s Star of the Week.

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The Belmont Park Spring/Summer meeting officially came to an end with Javier Castellano and Todd Pletcher winning the respective rider and trainer titles. As Gomer Pyle would say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” No, not really; the only thing less surprising than the dominant pair winning another meet title would be the naming of American Pharoah as the horse of the meet.

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That’s just Mr. Z being Mr. Z. There really aren’t many more interesting horses in America than the three-year-old son of Malibu Moon. To start with, he runs in just about every big race in America, and more often than not, he runs well. Sure, he can’t go toe-to-toe with American Pharoah, but who can? Aside from that one, this modern day iron man is in with a fighting chance against anyone. It’s also pretty clear that nothing comes easy -- either for him or his competition. And so it was last night in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby. On a rain soaked Indiana Grand main track, the Ohio Derby winner went right to the lead to play catch me if you can last night, and despite another extremely erratic run coming out of the far turn, and most of the way to the wire, there was only one horse able to run by the game Mr. Z. It was not the first time he had trouble running a straight path down the lane, and as often as he runs, it will undoubtedly not be the last. It also won’t be the last time he fights tooth and nail to the wire to hold off a horse that looked primed to go by him. That’s two straight times it happened to the talented Divining Rod. Finally, remember this is the horse which D. Wayne Lukas took to Pimlico against the owner’s wishes. To get him into the Preakness, the Hall of Fame trainer engineered a sale from the Zayat Stables to Calumet Farm. A never ending soap opera, stay tuned in for more from the colorful career of Mr. Z.

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And before I completely forget, a fair deal of credit needs to go to the actual race winner of the Indiana Derby, Tiz Shea D. In the capable hands of the master, Bill Mott, the lightly raced, and good looking son of Tiznow has every right still to be on the improve. Clearly last night’s race was his best, what with having to navigate his way around the wide Mr. Z, before powering on by a couple of very good horses in Z and Divining Rod. Seems like that potential we saw in his Gotham second-place finish, in only his second career start, is alive and very much kicking.

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Mid-July only means one thing to race fans -- Saratoga and Del Mar. These great summertime meets used to be shorter, and as such, used to have more consistent excellence, but still they remain highlights of every season. Take your pick between having the bold and beautiful Pacific Ocean across the street, or the idyllic surroundings of Saratoga Springs. Both are where the beautiful people go to be seen. I happen not to be one of those beautiful people, but visits to either still get my blood pumping after all these years. Which do I like better? Saratoga by a length and a half, because for me it’s all about tradition, tradition, tradition.

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I’ve become a big fan of the race mare Sheer Drama this year, but proving once again that you can be wrong more than half the time and still love this game, I believed that the daughter of Burning Roma wanted no part of ten furlongs. Watching yesterday’s Grade 1 Delaware Handicap, in which she won in style with a racehorse final time of 2:01.58, I realize that I was wrong once again. Turns out Sheer Drama is far from distance challenged.

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Country roads, take me home

To the place where I belong,

West Virginia,

Mountain mama, take me home

Country roads

… Now admittedly I’ve never been a big John Denver fan, but when I decided the family and I would be West Virginia-bound for a first ever visit to Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort (man, that’s a mouthful) to see the West Virginia Derby on August 1, I’ve had several strange dreams, and all of them have been narrated by John Denver. Weird, right? I’ve never done anything in West Virginia in the past, but driven through it a few times. Frankly, I never really worried if I was missing much, but now I wonder if there is some sort of mystical calling for me to get to the Mountain State coming from the John Denver of my dreams. Still weirder yet, right? I’ll let you know how all this plays out as we draw closer to the West Virginia Derby.

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OK, I admit it … With each passing day, I become even more impressed with American Pharoah. His string of workouts, since the rigors of the Triple Crown, including yesterday’s dazzler at Del Mar, are better than I possibly could have imagined. To mangle a phrase ... this horse is working like a tremendous machine.