California Chrome turned the Santa Anita Derby into a personal Play Pen this winter at Santa Anita. Dominating wins in the San Felipe and today in the Santa Anita Derby will likely make him the Kentucky Derby Favorite.
Not much to see here folks. Dublin Up set a moderate pace and California Chrome broke a step slow. California Chrome moved up to engage the leaders at the 6 furlong pole and split horses moving with ease to the lead, broke the race open at the top of the stretch and was virtually eased at the finish line. Dominating, fast and efficient his 3rd straight win and 6th straight solid effort.
The flashy chestnut has run early and run often with a solid juvenile foundation. His last 4 races have been lights out, starting out as a pace presser and in his last two races just being faster than everyone.
Hoppertunity treated this race like the prep it was and has now shown moderate speed on a dry track. Being closer to the pace allows him to settle in stride. He has run 5 races this spring and seems to be filling out into that large frame. This was a sneaky good race and if he train well in the next month there is a lot to like in Louisville.
Candy Boy makes it to the Derby by a head finishing 3rd in the final strides this race. He was tired on the turn and ran a very similar race, well spotted down the backstretch, made a 4-wide move under a confident ride by Gary Stevens and then flattened out on the turn and was hard ridden to finish 3rd. Candy Boy needed the out. But I don’t think trainers will be skipping the 50 point races next year.
Candy Boy’s main concern is that he is not fast enough. He is similar to Commissioner, he is a grinder who can grind all day and needs a hot pace or contested pace. Long strider should run all day and will probably take some heavy works the next couple of weeks in California. Still a lot of speed signed on in the derby. Could still be a horse to watch in Louisville if all the anticipated speed shows up.
Back to the Star of the show. The truly good horses don’t prep. They Win races. All he does is win races and does so with devastating ease. California’s Chrome performance today was an A. P. Indy, Sunday Silence, Winning Colors, Risen Star, and Point Given type of romp. He controlled the pace, saved energy and opened up on the field in a matter of strides.
I’m not sure where he gets his power. His stride is efficient and not really long. He has a normal size chest and does not really have a long stride. It’s the same move every race, stay in contention until mid stretch then in 2 strides at the most critical part of any races he leaves them gasping for air.
Hey the Kentucky Derby is a crapshoot. People still have this silly idea that the “best” horse wins the derby. In reality a lot of mediocre and average horses have worn roses. A lot can happen in 3-weeks. Post Positions will be key, if it rains that could change things.
But I have watched a lot of races over the years. When you see a Prime Time performance you don’t have to think about it. It’s the hall of famer test. If you watch a race and have to decide if it was good. – Then it probably wasn’t. If you watch a race and go “holy shit” then it’s a good race.
Holy Shit!