Mom a loser, son a champion colt - By Shailendra Awasthi I TOI
Posted on - 28 Mar 2015
Mom a loser, son a champion colt!
California Chrome Favourite For Dubai World Cup
By Shailendra Awasthi
TOI
When nine contenders from across the globe line up for a winner's purse of $6 million (over Rs 37.5 crore) at the 20th running of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse today , all eyes will be on the cheapest buy among the thoroughbreds, the chestnut colt California Chrome, American horse of the year 2014. He carries a $10,000-tag, considered peanuts in the world of horse racing.
California Chrome is owned by American duo Perry Martin and Steve Coburn, who are also breeders of the Hollywood-style rags-to-riches champion.
To enter the rich world of horse racing, Martin and Coburn bought a 2 year-old filly (young female) Love The Chase in 2009 with about a dozen other owners in a syndicate. However, after her poor show, others wanted to sell her off. Since Martin and Coburn didn't want to part with the filly, they paid out $8,000 to their associates to buy it.
When one of the handlers at the filly's farm quipped that only a dumbass could invest in that slow filly, Martin and Coburn, who seemingly believed in miracles, decided to name their new venture Dumb-Ass Partners. Sometime later, they paid a piddling $2,000 to cover (impregnate) her by a none-too successful stallion that goes by the name of Lucky Pulpit. Our hero, the champion colt, was born on a rare rainy afternoon in 2011 in California's drought ravaged San Joaquin Valley and was named California Chrome.
The young colt was then handed over to a former jockey-turned-trainer, 77-year-old Art Sherman, who once slept in a railway car in his struggling days. After running second on debut in a maiden race at Hollywood Park in April 2013, California Chrome won his second race at the same venue three weeks later. The rest, as they say, is history. In his 17 starts so far, California Chrome has won nine times, including the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. He ran fourth in the Belmont Stakes, failing in his bid to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. CC has, however, generated a huge fan base known as Chromies, apart from a goodly following on Facebook and Twitter.
In the 2000 metres World Cup in Dubai, as favourite, California Chrome will face strong challengers including another American runner Lea, Japan Cup winner Epiphaneia and last year's World Cup champion African Story.
The race will be run at 10.30 pm India time.
