From 2014: California Chrome moves to with one win of history
The following story was originally published on May 17, 2014
BALTIMORE >> It gets even harder from here on out for California Chrome.
He won easily in his home state of California, he dazzled in the Kentucky Derby, and he dug deep to win the Preakness on Saturday.
Now comes the toughest test of all, the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.
The chestnut colt, foaled at Harris Farms near Coalinga, will attempt to sweep the Derby, Preakness and Belmont, something that hasn’t been done since Affirmed in 1978. Since then, 12 horses have won the first two legs and failed to complete the sweep in the 1½mile Belmont in New York; the last was I’ll Have Another, who was scratched on the eve of the Belmont two years ago.
“You have to have a very good horse to win these three races,” said Art Sherman, the winning 77-yearold trainer whose career includes decades long stints at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields. “I’m hoping I’ve got one right now.”
Maybe the horse with the modest pedigree and average Joe owners is the one.
California Chrome beat Ride On Curlin by 1½ lengths in the Preakness, covering 1 3/16 miles in 1:54.84 before a record crowd of 123,469. Sent off as the overwhelming 1-to-2 favorite on a cool and sunny day at Pimlico, the horse paid $3.
He now has won six straight races. The streak started with four in a row in California by a combined 24¼ lengths. Then California Chrome coasted home in the Derby by 1¾ lengths after opening up a big lead in the stretch. The margin dwindled in the Preakness as he fought off multiple challengers.
Jockey Victor Espinoza will get another crack at trying to complete the Triple Crown, after missing with War Emblem in 2002. He finished eighth in the Belmont that year.
“You have to be a super horse to win,” the jockey said. “Hopefully, California Chrome comes back good, and he’s the one that hopefully can do it.”
Bob Baffert trained War Emblem, one of his three Triple tries that ended in failure. He missed with Silver Charm in 1997 and again the following year with Real Quiet, who lost the Belmont by a nose.
“California Chrome is something. He’s a cool customer,” Baffert said after the race. “He does everything right.”
California Chrome coowner Steve Coburn shed tears after his 3-year-old colt crossed the finish line.
“I don’t mean to be bold or cocky or arrogant,” Coburn said. “I saw this baby when he was a day old. I told my wife, ‘Carolyn, this horse is going to do something big. I don’t know what it is, but we’re going to stay in the game to make sure this colt gets to be the best that he can be.’ ”
Quite a statement from a guy with a one-horse stable.
Coburn and partner Perry Martin from Yuba City bred an $8,000 mare to a $2,500 stallion to produce California Chrome. Based on the colt’s humble breeding, he probably shouldn’t be on the verge of making history.
His mother, named Love the Chase, won just one race.
The owners were longshots to get this far, too.
Coburn and Martin named their operation DAP Racing, which stands for Dumb Ass Partners. Their silks include an image of a donkey. Coburn and Perry, who live on each side of the California-nevada border, get up early for their jobs — Coburn working as a press operator and Martin running a lab that tests high-reliability equipment.
“We just hope that this horse is letting America know that the little guy can win,” Coburn said.