California Chrome out; Will return for full 5yo season

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

(Quick note: Rumor is Coburn's sold his interest to Taylor Made, but as of this post it's still a rumor. Paulick posted something about it, but I'll wait til I see it in Bloodhorse or DRF. If he did, it rather affects running at 5 and Martin's interests in that.)

Taylor Made buys share of California Chrome
By Steve Andersen

http://www.drf.com/news/premium/tayl...ifornia-chrome

California Chrome, shown at Arlington Park on Saturday, is sidelined with a bruised cannon bone.

California Chrome will be shipped to Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., this week following the farm’s purchase of a minority share in the 2014 Horse of the Year, trainer Art Sherman said on Wednesday.

Sherman said Taylor Made has purchased the ownership share of California Chrome that was previously held by Steve Coburn. Coburn and Perry Martin bred and have raced California Chrome, who is sidelined with a bruised cannon bone diagnosed last weekend.

“The horse will go to Kentucky at the end of the week,” Sherman said. “He’s sound as long as you don’t try to run on it. He should be good in three months.”

Coburn, Martin, and Taylor Made president Duncan Taylor were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Sherman said long-term plans for California Chrome are uncertain, with the possibilities being a stallion career beginning in 2016 or a return to racing. In recent months, Martin has held discussions with stallion farms about retiring California Chrome to stud. Sherman said no plans have been finalized.

“There is a chance he could come back to racing or go to stud,” Sherman said. “All the vets I’ve talked to said he will be 100 percent with time off. The prognosis is good.”

California Chrome has not raced since finishing second in the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates on March 28. He was sent to England and trainer Rae Guest’s stable at Martin’s insistence following that race but missed two scheduled starts in that country – the Lockinge Stage at Newbury Racecourse on May 16 and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17.

California Chrome missed the Prince of Wales’s Stakes because of a foot injury. He was sent to Arlington Park to be trained for the Arlington Million on Aug. 15 when the cannon-bone bruise was detected last weekend. The injury will prevent California Chrome from starting in important stakes in the autumn such as the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

A California-bred by Lucky Pulpit, California Chrome has won 9 of 18 starts and earned $6,322,650. He is best known for his wins in the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.