California Chrome out; Will return for full 5yo season

[pointman]

Per Marcus Hersh on Twitter:

"Spoke to Art Sherman. California Chrome likely out rest of year with cannon-bone bruise. Possible he doesn't race again if retired to stud."

Shocking. Terrific management by Perry Martin.

[casp0555]

just heard the same...wow, really was looking forward to seeing him race again

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by pointman

Per Marcus Hersh on Twitter:

"Spoke to Art Sherman. California Chrome likely out rest of year with cannon-bone bruise. Possible he doesn't race again if retired to stud."

Shocking. Terrific management by Perry Martin.

If retired to stud....
Wonder if they've gotten any offers.

[pointman]

Some more detail.

http://ctba.com/california-chrome-out-for-the-year/

I'm sure dumb and dumber will manage to screw up any decision from here.

[casp0555]

Originally Posted by pointman

Some more detail.

http://ctba.com/california-chrome-out-for-the-year/

I'm sure dumb and dumber will manage to screw up any decision from here.

lately, when have they not......?

[LARHAGE]

What a shame poor horse is owned by idiots, he could have cleaned up on the local scene with Shared Belief injured, but those idiots go off chasing unicorns and the horse paid, I thought he looked horrible when he returned to the states, skinny and dull, too bad Sherman didn't have control, Frankel would have ripped them a new one!

[Kasept]

Jay Privman, Del Mar, 2015-07-12: A few thoughts on California Chrome -- appreciation for Art and Alan Sherman

If this indeed is the end of the racing career for CALIFORNIA CHROME, it should be noted that the only race he won after the Preakness was the Hollywood Derby, a race his trainer, Art Sherman, decided to run in because he trusted his instincts that California Chrome had come out of the Breeders' Cup Classic in excellent shape and was ready for another race at Del Mar.

Remember, the original plan was to not race California Chrome after the Breeders' Cup. Had that plan been followed, California Chrome would not have run in the Hollywood Derby, a race that unquestionably swung the tide toward bringing him both titles as champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year. If he doesn't run in that race, Bayern very likely wins both titles.

It was Art Sherman who wanted to run in the Hollywood Derby. His decision is what enabled the owners of California Chrome to receive the glory of a divisional title and Horse of the Year.

Yet after that, majority owner Perry Martin overruled the wishes of minority owner Steve Coburn and Sherman when it came to California Chrome's campaign this year. The Dubai World Cup made sense -- a race on dirt, for a giant purse.

But the decision to go to England, while certainly sporting, defied the wishes of Sherman and Coburn. For the first time, California Chrome was away from the care of the people -- Art and son Alan -- who made him who he was. He trained on unfamiliar terrain. He at the least suffered a foot bruise while there, and arrived back in the US with bone bruising, which now sends him to the sidelines, perhaps never to race again.

The entire reason for going to England was Martin's stated belief that a win there would increase California Chrome's value and appeal to breeders. Perhaps that would have been true. But he likely already had established his value, and no matter what he did there -- in races worth less than what he would have raced for here -- he was still going to be a son of Lucky Pulpit out of an $8,000 mare. He outran his pedigree, but whether he'll outperform his pedigree as a stallion is far from certain.

We'll never know if California Chrome would have remained injury free had he not gone to England. Perhaps the bone bruising he suffered would have occurred here, too.

But what I do know, from having watched this horse for the better part of his career, is that Art Sherman always showed that he knew what was best for California Chrome. He ignored people who said the colt should have arrived sooner at Churchill Downs before the Kentucky Derby, and those who said he needed to work between the Derby and Preakness, and those who questioned why he was running on grass after the Breeders' Cup.

Sherman was not down with going to the Pennsylvania Derby -- a pure money grab that left him a race short for the BC Classic -- nor going to England.

Sherman was right an all counts, and it's a real shame his probity wasn't fully appreciated by those whose interests he, ultimately, was trying to look out for.