Bits and Pieces according to ZATT (The California Chrome Edition)

The long and winding racing career of California Chrome might be coming to an end earlier than expected. TVG reported today that the four-year-old California-bred will likely be out for the rest of 2015 with a bruised cannon bone, which very well could spell his retirement to the breeding shed. I have several thoughts on the subject, but first and foremost, is that the 2014 Horse of the Year was a heckuva good racehorse for the past 27 months, and one, that most assuredly, was good for racing. The winner of 9-of-18 career starts, for earnings of better than $6.3 million, Chrome has been a lightning rod for opinions and comments ever since he was stepped on early in the Belmont Stakes, before finishing a game fourth while in pursuit of becoming the first horse in 36 years to sweep the Triple Crown.

Much of the chatter about the horse comes as a result of his owners, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin. Neither ever had a horse near this good before, and will likely never have one close to Chrome again. They made some unique decisions along the way with him, and at times put their foot in their mouth, but if nothing less, they were an interesting ownership team to follow. They call themselves the Dumbass Partners, and I am willing to bet that a good percentage of racing fans out there feel like their partnership is well named. I’m not so sure. In some ways I actually consider the pair of Regular Joes as a breath of fresh air, or at least different air. Personally, I hold no ill feelings about them.

Sure, Coburn made some unfortunate remarks in the heat of the moment immediately following the defeat in the Belmont. I 100% disagree with what he said, but I can understand how crushing a blow it must have been. These are a couple of regular guys, who in a matter of weeks became the toast of the sport, and I know Coburn thought that his horse was going to win the Triple Crown. When it all came crashing down -- meaning no Triple Crown, I can only imagine how Coburn must have felt. Unfortunately for him, there was a camera and a microphone there and ready to catch the adult man acting more like a little boy. I’ve met Coburn in person and found him to be a gracious and outgoing fellow. At the very least, he was a unique flavor, rather than another scoop of vanilla.

Perry Martin was supposed to be the more level headed of the two owners, but one has to wonder considering the odyssey of racing he had mapped out for California Chrome for his four-year-old season. As much as we have been talking about him in 2015, it is almost hard to believe that he has only entered the starting gate on two occasions. And you know what? He ran very well in both. A good second in the showdown with Shared Belief, remember they left the very good Hoppertunity in their dust, and then second when he travelled all the way to Dubai for the world’s richest race. It was what came after Dubai that drew the ire of many, though, as the California star went straight from the Middle East to England, for a planned raid on Ascot. Some called it greed, but I was always in favor of the bold plan for the talented horse we knew could handle grass, to try something so unique.

It seems Americans fully expect Europeans to come over here to race and prove themselves, but ask one of our own to go over there and do the same borders on animal abuse. That’s a shame, but I digress. And of course, Martin’s big plans came crashing down when his star was unable to race in England, and now looks close to retirement. Should we blame his time in England for his injuries? If you know the answer to be yes, then you know a great deal more about horses and racing than I do.

I also find it somewhat ironic that the four-year-old version of California Chrome would come the same year as American Pharoah. Chrome was such a popular horse last year, a true feel-good, rags to riches story, but his trials and tribulations this year only fueled the fire to shed a negative light on him when compared to this year’s Triple Crown winner. American Pharoah, with the same rider, Victor Espinoza, no less, was able to do what California Chrome was unable to complete, but so what? I, like most, feel that American Pharoah is the better horse of the two, but that in no way should take away from California Chrome. He has been a top horse and a great story. Why must we cut him down by comparing him to an even better horse?

California Chrome also gave us Art Sherman, and the entire industry is better for it. Not that we didn’t have Sherman for more than the past half-century to begin with, but Chrome was the vehicle for the whole world to learn about what kind of horseman, and more importantly, gentleman, that Sherman is. Not only is the man who led the talented colt from statebred obscurity to within a jump or two from winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same season, but he did so with a quiet dignity and grace. He knows his horses, but he does not need to let anyone know. His humble nature is refreshing.

Looking back at the race record of California Chrome, it is littered with stakes wins, eight in total, with some of those coming in America’s biggest races. That’s not so bad, is it? I was happy to see him win the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby to end his sophomore season. I thought he was a deserving winner of the Horse of the Year award, not because I knew he was the best horse, but rather for the entire season he put together. Surely no horse was more in the headlines in 2014, but more than that, California Chrome was an excellent runner for most of the year. From January to November, with few exceptions throughout the year, he was outstanding. In today’s world, it seems we talk about the losses more than we used to, but you have to respect the horse who is not afraid to mix it up in all the big races. Some work out, some don’t, but you must respect the horse.

In the end, if this is indeed the end of his racing career, I will have nothing but good memories of California Chrome. I spent part of my first-ever Kentucky Derby walkover with the race favorite, and watched his coat glisten like a shiny new penny in the Kentucky sun. He may have entered the racing world from modest beginnings, but the son of Lucky Pulpit was able to reach the pinnacle of the sport about half an hour after that memorable walkover. He was fantastic in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, and all the California preps for the 2014 Derby, for that matter. That is how I will remember California Chrome.