Trainer Art Sherman knows the comparisons are unavoidable.
His brilliant colt California Chrome, early favorite for the Grade 1, $1 million
Santa Anita Derby on April 5, is California-bred, chestnut in color, and, most
importantly, can run like the wind.
Sherman, 77, was well acquainted with
another chestnut colt some 59 years ago who met all of the aforementioned
descriptions with a whirlwind of brilliance that left the racing world in awe.
That chestnut’s name was Swaps.
With 18-year-old exercise boy Sherman
in-tow, “The California Comet,” as he was known, followed up a sensational win
in the Santa Anita Derby and traveled from his Hollywood Park base to Churchill
Downs where he defeated the mighty Nashua to win the 1955 Kentucky Derby with
Willie Shoemaker aloft.
Trained by Mesh Tenney and bred in California by his owner,
Rex Ellsworth, Swaps, by Khaled and out of a granddaughter of Triple Crown
Champion War Admiral named Iron Reward, had breathtaking early speed and the
ability to carry it 1 1/4 miles and beyond. Named Horse of the Year at
age four in 1956, Swaps at one time held five world records and was inducted
into The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1966.
A California-bred colt by Lucky Pulpit, California Chrome
was sent to the lead for the first time and went on to a dominating 7 1/4-length
win in the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe at Santa Anita on March 8. A
winner of five of his nine starts, he obviously has a mountain to climb before
he begins to attain the stature of Swaps, who prior to Spectacular Bid, was
often referred to by Shoemaker as the best horse he ever rode.
“I’ll say this, they’re similar in their running style and
the way they move,” said Sherman, who now bases his training operation some 30
miles south of Santa Anita at Los Alamitos Racecourse.
“Swaps was a little
bigger than this colt and he didn’t have four white stockings like California
Chrome. This horse has a big white blaze and Swaps had a little white star.
Truthfully, Swaps was a better horse at age four than he was at three.
“I remember (Swaps) was still pretty green when he won
the Santa Anita Derby, but he was just a freak. The thing about California
Chrome is that he’s getting better and better with each start. His win here in
the Cal Cup (Derby on January 25) was super, but the way he left those horses
behind in the San Felipe just took your breath away.
“I came out to check on him early the next morning and
you’d have never known that he’d just run a mile and a sixteenth like he did.
We’re hoping this colt is on his way, but he’s got a long way to go to catch
Swaps at this point.
“I know there’s always a question until they’ve done it,
but I really think this horse will go a mile and a quarter, no problem. He’s
doing everything right and we’re looking forward to running him here in the
(Santa Anita) Derby. It is getting a little scary though, with all the
comparisons and now he’s the future book favorite (for the May 3 Kentucky Derby). I had to laugh. He opened up at 300-1, now he’s
5-1.”
Prior to his San Felipe score, California Chrome had only
one graded stakes appearance on his resume — a much troubled sixth place run in
the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity last September 4. A review of the race
suggests the son of Lucky Pulpit may have been best that day when ridden by
Alberto Delgado.
Owned by his breeders, Perry Martin and Steve Coburn,
California Chrome has banked $534,850 and with Victor Espinoza aboard, he’s won
his last three races — the seven-furlong King Glorious, 1 1/16-mile
Cal Cup Derby and San Felipe — by a combined 19 lengths.
Breaking like a shot, California Chrome took the lead in
the San Felipe and never looked back.
“I wanted to try something new today, so I let him go right
out of the gate,” Espinoza said. “I don’t know if people expected me to go right
to the lead, but I wanted to let him enjoy his race — I just let him go.”
Sherman is hoping to “let go” again in the Santa Anita Derby. Following that, if the racing gods permit,
Sherman hopes to return some 59 years after Swaps took Louisville by storm, to
again smell the roses with yet another California-bred on the first Saturday in
May.
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