Shared Belief Best in the San Antonio Showdown

This one was worth the price of admission. The biggest race of a big day, Saturday’s San Antonio Handicap may have been listed as a Grade 2 in your programs, but anyone who follows racing knows this race was pure Grade 1 quality. The showdown between California Chrome and Shared Belief came to delicious fruition at the head of the Santa Anita stretch, and as the two excellent champions came together, it was Shared Belief who was too much for last year’s Horse of the Year.

Sent off as the even money favorite, Shared Belief broke as smooth as could be under Mike Smith from his middle post position, while California Chrome, the 7-5 second choice, also broke well from the outside. Meanwhile, long shot Alfa Bird shot right to the lead from the far outside, as expected. The dual Classic winner moved quickly into second, but may have gotten a little closer to the lead than preferred going into the first bend when both Shared Belief and Bronzo pressured a bit before hitting the turn.

From there, the two big horses gained perfect stalking positions down the backstretch, as they stalked the early leader from second and third through early fractions of :23.65 and :47.87. Heading into the far turn, it was California Chrome and rider Victor Espinoza who jumped first, and quickly were on and past Alfa Bird, but Shared Belief remained in dogged pursuit. They raced that way rounding the turn, and it quickly became apparent that the two champions were in store for an exciting stretch drive.

The stage was set. The two that everyone came to see, hit the stretch to the roar of the Santa Anita crowd. California Chrome was a little ahead, but the 2013 Juvenile Champion was bearing down. Shared Belief quickly collared his rival, and as the two briefly ran together, thoughts of a head-to-head battle put everyone on the edge of their seats. A ding-dong battle to the wire was not meant to be on this day, though, as the stronger horse began to pull clear.

Hand ridden to the finish by his confident rider, Shared Belief hit the wire 1 1/2-lengths clear of California Chrome. Final time for the gelded son of Candy Ride for the nine furlongs was 1:48.45. It was a long way back to the rest of the field, as the two champions both demonstrated their class.

Winning trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer was beaming after the race. “A good race, and I’m very grateful to win it,” said Hollendorfer. “In the big races, I’d rather have Mike [Smith] than anybody. He just knows exactly what to do. He timed it perfectly, and what a great ride down the lane.”

Behind the formidable duo, third choice, Hoppertunity, briefly looked like he might make it a three-horse battle on the turn, but Shared Belief and California Chrome would have none of that, and quickly left him behind to fight for third place money. A battle he would hold on to win over a closing Bronzo, but many lengths short of Shared Belief.

California Chrome’s likeable trainer, Art Sherman, took the defeat in stride. “Hey listen, it’s just one race,” said Sherman. “We are going to have more fun later on down the road. It would be nice to hook up again. Don’t forget, I have a couple of options. I can run on the grass and the dirt.”

For Shared Belief, the resounding victory over California Chrome was sweet redemption after finishing a very unlucky 4th in the Breeders’ Cup Classic two starts back. That race, in which he was bounced around soundly in the first furlong, remains the only loss in 10 career starts for the star of the ownership partnership led by Jim Rome's Jungle Racing.

As for California Chrome, he ran another very good race, and was valiant in defeat. We can only hope that these two, and hopefully Bayern, as well, will get several more chances to compete at the highest level. If that happens, we are in store for a great season of racing in 2015. But today, on February 7, Shared Belief is the top dog.