December 23, 2024

Kentucky Derby 140 J

Last updated: 5/3/14 10:11 PM


140TH KENTUCKY DERBY

KENTUCKY DERBY
(G1), CD, $2,177,800, 3YO, 1 1/4M, 5-3.
CALIFORNIA CHROME, c, 3, Lucky Pulpit–Love the Chase, by Not for Love. O-Coburn, Steven and Martin, Perry, B-Perry Martin & Steve Coburn (CA), T-Art Sherman, J-Victor Espinoza, $1,417,800. 17— Commanding Curve, r, 3, Master Command–Mother, by Lion Hearted. ($60,000 ’12 FTKOCT; $75,000 2013 OBSAPR). O-West Point Thoroughbreds, B-T F VanMeter (KY), $400,000. Danza, c, 3, Street Boss–Champagne Royale, by French Deputy. ($105,000 ’12 KEESEP). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, B-Liberation Farm & Brandywine Farm (KY), $200,000.
Also Ran: Wicked Strong, Samraat, Dance With Fate, Ride On Curlin, Medal Count, Chitu, We Miss Artie, General a Rod, Intense Holiday, Candy Boy, Uncle Sigh, Tapiture, Harry’s Holiday, Vinceremos, Wildcat Red, Vicar’s in Trouble.
Winning Time: 2:03 3/5 (ft)
Margins: 1 3/4, 1 1/4, 2 3/4.
Odds: 2.50, 37.80, 8.70.









The second largest Derby crowd in history watched as California Chrome made a lot of dreams come true

(Jim Tyrrell/Horsephotos.com)

Steve Coburn and Perry Martin’s homebred California Chrome lived up to all
expectations with a scintillating victory in Saturday’s 140th running of the
Kentucky Derby. In the process, the gleaming chestnut made 77-year-old Art
Sherman the oldest trainer to ever saddle a Derby winner.

“He gave me the biggest thrill I ever had in my life,” an emotional Sherman
said.

Sherman has compared California Chrome to all-time great Swaps, another
California-bred chestnut who turned the Santa Anita Derby/Kentucky Derby double
in 1955. A young 18-year-old Sherman accompanied Hall of Famer Swaps to
Churchill Downs as his exercise rider and watched that Derby from the backside.

Now 59 years later, California Chrome has taken Sherman back to the Twin
Spires, and this time the veteran horseman stood in the spotlight as trainer of
a Kentucky Derby winner.

“Just awesome. I’m breathless. This is so cool,” Sherman grinned. “I think I
rode the horse with Victor (Espinoza) the last 70 yards. It was a
picture-perfect ride. He was right where he should have been all the way around.
Coming down the stretch I was thinking, ‘Keep rollin’ big boy. Keep rollin.’



“This has to be the sweetest moment of my life. To be my age and have
something like this happen, what can you say? For all my friends in California,
this is for you. We did it!”

For co-owner Coburn, the whole experience has been more than a dream come
true. California Chrome shares a birthday with his sister Brenda, who died of
cancer at age 36.

“I’ve got somebody up there very special watching us,” Coburn noted. “To see
all this happen for my partner Perry Martin, our wives, our families, to see
this dream come true that we have put so much blood, sweat and tears, our
savings, our retirement into this horse, and see this horse win the Kentucky
Derby…

“I said this horse would win the Kentucky Derby. When this horse wins the
Kentucky Derby, I said I believe this horse will win the Triple Crown. It will
be 36 years this year since there’s a Triple Crown winner,” he added. “This colt
will go down in history.”










A jubilant Espinoza gives California Chrome a congratulatory pat

(Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

A major plotline in this year’s Derby concerned the ownership groups donating
a percentage of their horses’ earnings to various charities. One that was
missed, though, was Espinoza’s own good works. During the press conference, the
rider brought to attention a cause dear to his heart, which just happens to
coincide with Coburn.

“I just want to mention one thing,” Espinoza said, tearing up. “One day I
went to City of Hope in L.A. All the kids, they have cancer. I can’t go in
there. Really, I cry.

“Since that time, I donate 10 percent of my earnings for all the kids that
have cancer. It makes me cry to see all the kids that can’t even have a life
like we have. It’s just heartbreaking for everybody. I hope today, what earnings
I have, I make a change to one of those kids.”

California Chrome, who became the first California-bred to win the Derby
since Decidedly in 1962, helped make a lot of dreams come true on Saturday.

Breaking strongly from the gate, the Lucky Pulpit colt headed straight to the
front before Espinoza settled his mount back into a tracking
position. Uncle Sigh led the way on the backstretch with Chitu and Samraat keeping in close attendance to his
outside through splits of :23 and :47 1/5.



California Chrome and Espinoza bided their time in the second flight of
runners and began closing ground on the front runners after three-quarters in 1:11 4/5. The duo
rallied rounding the turn, hit the front in the stretch and pulled off to post an easy
1 3/4-length win in 2:03 3/5 for 1
1/4 miles over the fast track.

“I never felt in my dreams that I would win two Kentucky Derbies in my entire
career,” said Espinoza, who captured the 2002 running with War Emblem from the
same 5 post. “I was a young guy and I never knew I was going to be a jockey and
look at me now. It is an awesome feeling.




“I think this one is more exciting for me than last one. Last one I was
young. I was kind of shocked, too. It’s like a dream now to win the second one.




“This was a typical race for him,” he explained. “He ran like he always does.
Art just said, ‘You know him, ride him.’ I had the trip I wanted. I don’t mess
with him too much. I just stretch his legs a little bit and then let him do his
thing. Pressure will be back on for the Preakness, but that’s OK.”










Sherman lifts his Derby trophy as California Chrome’s connections cheer

(Jim Tyrrell/Horsephotos.com)

Sent off the 5-2 favorite, California Chrome paid $7.

Commanding Curve
finished second, 1 1/4 lengths up on Danza while Wicked Strong followed by
another 2 3/4 lengths.

“All I had to do was just ride him hard and he gave me everything,” Shaun
Bridgmohan praised his mount, Commanding Curve. “I was starting to get him
geared up when he turned for home and I had half the field beat at that point. I
just was looking somewhere for him to go. Once I got him down the lane, man, he
lengthened his stride and really dug in for me.”

“I
wish I was out there (in the infield winner’s circle), but you know, hey, I
thank God for everything, the way it is, and that’s what keeps us going for next
year. Hopefully, we’ll be back here next year,” said Dallas Stewart, who for the
second year in a row sent out the Derby runner-up.




“I would never get frustrated over that,” he added. “There’s a lot of things
to be frustrated about. Getting beat in a horse race isn’t one of them.”

When asked about the Preakness Stewart remarked, “You know, who knows? Maybe.
Yeah, probably. We’ll see. He’s a big, strong horse. You can see he handled the
paddock real good. He handles a lot of things good. So, I doubt the race would
knock him out. I was just hoping California Chrome would kind of give in a
little bit, but he didn’t. We were running at him. I mean, Shaun (Bridgmohan)
said, ‘He was running, Dallas.’ So I’m very proud of him.”



Samraat completed the top five under the wire and was followed by Dance With
Fate, Ride On Curlin, Medal Count, Chitu, We Miss Artie, General a Rod, Intense
Holiday, Candy Boy, Uncle Sigh, Tapiture, Harry’s Holiday, Vinceremos, Wildcat
Red and Vicar’s In Trouble.










The ‘Chromester’ is surging toward a date with destiny in the Triple Crown

(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com)

“I had a horrible trip,” asserted Gary Stevens, who was aboard Candy Boy. “On
the first turn Rajiv Maragh came over on Wicked Strong and shut me off. Then he
shut (Corey) Nakatani off (on Dance With Fate), causing me to steady again.
We’re both lucky we didn’t fall. We need to take care of the horse and rider.”

“It was awesome. What a great feeling,” said Corey Lanerie in contrast after
finishing 16th on Harry’s Holiday in what was his first Derby appearance. “You
know, I thought I would actually be more nervous. But to me, I guess I prepared
myself to ride like it was just another race. I was actually a lot more aware of
my surroundings than I was nervous. I had a great trip. He kind of got a little
tired on me going into the final turn. I rode on him a little bit to see if I
could get a little piece. The last eighth of a mile, I just took care of him.”

Total attendance on Saturday was 164,906, the second highest to the
165,307 recorded in 2012. The Oaks/Derby double, with Untapable, was worth
$11.40.



California Chrome began his career at Hollywood Park last spring.
He was runner-up on his debut going 4 1/2 furlongs in April, broke his maiden
over the same trip in May, and next finished fifth in the Willard Proctor. The
son of Lucky Pulpit then rebounded to take the Graduation for California-breds
at Del Mar going 5 1/2 furlongs. Sixth in the Del Mar Futurity and Golden State
Juvenile at Santa Anita in his next two outings, California Chrome concluded his
two-year-old campaign with a 6 1/4-length romp in the King Glorious at Hollywood
over seven furlongs.










California Chrome (center purple) is leading the sophomore crop

(Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com)

The King Glorious, the final stakes ever held at storied Hollywood, marked a
turning point. Having learned how to run, and use his devastating burst of speed
effectively, California Chrome hasn’t lost since. He successfully stretched out
to 1 1/16 miles in his sophomore debut, taking the California Cup Derby for
state-breds by 5 1/2 lengths on January 25.

The flashy, aptly-named colt ventured into graded company for the March 8 San Felipe,
also over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita, and dusted pace rival Midnight Hawk by 7
1/4 lengths. He dispatched even better foes with similar ease in the Santa Anita
Derby on April 5, schooling his rivals by 5 1/4 lengths, and brought a
four-race, 24 1/4-length combined win streak, into the Kentucky Derby.




The $1,417,800 winner’s share of the $2,177,800 Derby purse doubled
California Chrome’s earnings to $2,552,650 to go along with his 11-7-1-0 career
record.

Bred in California by his owners, California Chrome is the first registered
foal from the winning Love the Chase, a daughter of Not for Love who has since
produced a pair of full sisters to the Derby winner. This extended family is
responsible for Cascapedia, the champion older mare of 1977.



Further back, one finds none other than the mighty Swaps, who has proven not only a model for
California Chrome to follow but a distant relative.

Click on the links for

jockey
and

trainer
quotes from the 140th Derby. Click for the

post-race transcript
from the winning connections’ press conference.



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