The much-anticipated face-off between G1 Dubai World Cup winner California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) and 'TDN Rising Star' Dortmund (Big Brown) in Del Mar's GII San Diego H. lived up to the hype Saturday, and has to have racing fans dreaming of a rematch with the addition of superstar mare Beholder (Henny Hughes) in the GI Pacific Classic S. Aug. 20.
California Chrome had last been seen asserting his superiority on the world stage at Meydan Mar. 26, while MGISW Dortmund had been off since a clear-cut score in this venue's GIII Native Diver S. Nov. 28–both might have needed the race coming into it, but when push came to shove, neither blinked.
'Chrome,' the 4-5 favorite to Dortmund's 13-10, broke on top, but was content to concede the early advantage to his main–or pretty much only–rival. Dortmund doled out splits of :23.47 and :47.02, and Chrome turned up the pressure around the bend, appearing to be going the better of the two. Dortmund wasn't done, however, and cut the corner willingly to stick right with the 2014 Horse of the Year. The favorite again seemed to be pulling away in midstretch as he led by a neck or so, but Dortmund remained glued to him from there, and the race seemed much closer than the official winning margin of a half-length would suggest. Win the Space (Pulpit), second in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita as a 24-1 outsider last time, checked in 7 1/4 lengths back in third.
Saturday, Del Mar
SAN DIEGO H.-GII, $200,000, DMR, 7-23, 3yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:40.84, ft.
1–CALIFORNIA CHROME, 126, h, 5, by Lucky Pulpit
1st Dam: Love the Chase, by Not For Love
2nd Dam: Chase It Down, by Polish Numbers
3rd Dam: Chase the Dream, by Sir Ivor
O-California Chrome, LLC; B-Perry Martin & Steve Coburn (CA);
T-Art Sherman; J-Victor Espinoza. $120,000. Lifetime Record:
Horse of the Year & Ch. 3yo Colt-US, MGISW-US, G1SW-UAE,
22-13-3-1, $12,652,650. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”racingforthevfoundation”]2–Dortmund, 121, c, 4, Big Brown–Our Josephina, by Tale of the Cat.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($85,000 RNA Wlg '12 KEENOV; $90,000 Ylg
'13 FTKJUL; $140,000 2yo '14 EASMAY). O-Kaleem Shah, Inc.;
B-Emilie Gerlinde Fojan (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.[bullet ad=”lanni-hillndale-purchased”]3–Win the Space, 118, c, 4, Pulpit–Teamgeist (Arg), by
Mutakddim. ($65,000 Ylg '13 KEESEP; $360,000 2yo '14
FTFMAR). O-Kretz Racing LLC; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY);
T-George Papaprodromou. $24,000.[bullet ad=”guyhubert-andkingsequine-yearlingpurchase”][bullet ad=”vanleer-2yopurchase”][bullet ad=”taylor-made-tm-for-you”]Margins: HF, 7 1/4, 9HF. Odds: 0.80, 1.30, 5.90.
Also Ran: Follow Me Crev, Crittenden. Scratched: Soi Phet, Hard Aces.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
“I saved something for the end,” said Chrome's regular rider Victor Espinoza. “I knew I'd have to. I have a lot of respect for Dortmund and he made me run hard. I could see [Dortmund] was running so hard. When we came down the stretch, I was concerned. This horse was carrying a lot of weight; that was the challenge. But he was a runner all the way today. What a terrific comeback race for him. He's back. He's such a special horse. This was exciting; an exciting race. He showed everyone today just how special he is. Now maybe he and Dortmund and Beholder–that will really be exciting.”
Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, who had only ridden Dortmund once before in the Native Diver and who also pilots Beholder, offered: “He ran that last quarter mile on heart. I looked over and saw Victor was scrubbing and I thought maybe I had a chance. My horse gave it a great try. A terrific comeback race from him. He's some horse.”
Chrome won five times to kick off his sophomore campaign including, of course, the first two legs of the Triple Crown before checking in fourth behind Tonalist (Tapit) in the GI Belmont S.
Off the board behind Bayern (Oflee Wild)–representing the same connections as Dortmund–in the GII Pennsylvania Derby that September, he validated his earlier season exploits with a neck third to that same runner in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.
He secured Horse of the Year honors with a score in the grassy GI Hollywood Derby Nov. 29, but found ill-fated Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg}) a bit too tough when second in last February's GII San Antonio Invitational S. Settling for second in the 2015 running of the G1 Dubai World Cup, Chrome was forced to miss an intended start at Royal Ascot that June due to a stone bruise, and was subsequently ruled out of a try in the GI Arlington Million and shelved for the rest of the year with cannon bone bruising.
Taylor Made Farm had bought out minority owner and co-breeder Steve Coburn's 30% share in the Art Sherman trainee that July, and he headed to the Nicholasville nursery for some much-needed rest.
Successful in Santa Anita's GII San Pasqual S. off the bench Jan. 9, he shipped to Dubai for a prep in the desert this time, and cruised to the easiest of two-length scores in a track-and-trip handicap Feb. 25 before taking the $10-million World Cup by 3 3/4 lengths to become the highest-earning North American Thoroughbred of all time. California Chrome will stand at Taylor Made upon retirement, and it was announced earlier this month that a portion of his earnings for the rest of this racing season will be donated to the V Foundation for Cancer Research (click here for more).
“They both ran terrific,” Art Sherman said. “I tell you, Dortmund made him work for it. It's going to be an interesting few races coming up. I told Victor the track has been playing to speed all day long and you can't let a horse like Dortmund get away. So press him as much as you can [Dortmund] is a really game horse. I think both horses needed a race and you'll see two stronger horses coming back in the Pacific Classic. [Chrome] is that kind of horse, he loves to grind it out and he shows a lot of determination. What can I say? He's just Chrome, a wonderful horse to be around.”
Pedigree Notes:
California Chrome's 2-year-old full-sister R Sunday Surprise ran on belatedly to finish third against state-breds at Santa Anita June 16 for trainer Doug O'Neill and a group of partners that does not include Chrome's co-owner and breeder Perry Martin or Steve Coburn. His dam produced another Lucky Pulpit colt last year named Faversham. Sire Lucky Pulpit stood for $2,500 in 2014 at Harris Farms Coalinga, CA, but was bumped up to $10,000 the following season. He commanded a $7,500 fee this past breeding season.
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