California Chrome out; Will return for full 5yo season

[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.)

Ugh, I thought we were done with Chromie post-Belmont apologist stuff, esp. about an old issue, but I just don't think they hold water.

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

Coburn shot his mouth off in the heat of the moment and then later apologized. I guess lots of horse racing fans have never shot their mouth off in the wake of a disappointment. Or maybe those fans have just been lucky enough never to have had their big disappointments occur while a dozen television cameras are pointed at them. I just don't get the vitriol spewed at these guys.

That's not disappointment. That's bad sportsmanship, and initially he not only didn't apologize, he doubled-down on it. Heat of the moment ought to go down sooner than it did for him. I think it was more 'uh oh, people don't like us now, you better apologize' pressure from others and then he came around. Shooting one's mouth off is swearing or getting angry and saying something that felt true but you should've kept to yourself. It's not attacking the character of the other participants off of rules you should've known going in and you accepted. You don't get the vitriol? It was downright shocking to watch, esp. because his argument just didn't hold up. We had a chance in front of a national audience of some size to cultivate new fans, and he made us look bad. Fans wanted to feel badly for them and in one fell swoop he turned what was a (at least publicly) supportive base in this sport into one that resented him very much. Most people who lose their chance at the Triple Crown don't do this. Most of the losses I've ever seen in horse racing have been handled with greater class. No I *don't* think I or anybody else on this board would've slung that kind of bad sportsmanship on live national television.

Reminder of how sorry Coburn was:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...list/10224725/

As Sherman is quoted as saying in the USA Today article, "The horses aren't cowards and the people aren't cowards. … I think it was a little out (of context) myself. But, hey, he was at the heat of the moment. And don't forget, he's a fairly new owner. Sometimes the emotions get in front of you. … He hasn't been in the game long and hasn't had any bad luck."

I'm not gonna go back and reread the great apology tour effort. Coburn was pushed to apologize and maybe he eventually felt sorry after he calmed down but he shot his wife a particularly nasty look after the Belmont when she tried to hush him. She knew better. The guy's got a temper. It has nothing to do with being "new." If he's new, what's Mrs. Coburn? Sherman was trying to be diplomatic, but he obviously didn't agree with what was said. I've seen many new owners take situations like that with greater grace, and again he should've had greater awareness of what can happen in this sport than his wife who was along for the ride, and he didn't. Say "no comment." Then people think NBC is being the jerk for hounding you about it.

As for not being in the game long, we've got examples of that where people handle it well and handle it poorly. It's not about being new, it's about class and level of awareness as a fan or businessperson going in. If you're new to a sport do you think it's super wise to go breeding foals that add to the population of TBs in need of retirement homes? Would've made more sense to buy a yearling. Chrome could've been a dud. His sister shows promise but again, could've been a dud. Were they prepared for what to do with live animals they were breeding? They can't be new to the sport AND claim wisdom in breeding decisions. Gotta pick one. If they knew enough to pat themselves on the back for the latter, then they aren't the former. If they relied on luck and naivete as new breeders, frankly it's irresponsible. I don't think Perry Martin's anybody's fool there. He should've managed Coburn's expectations. Martin used his enthusiasm when it benefitted him, and chucked it when it didn't.

This is partly a critique of DAP and partly general: So you approach a trainer with a plan to win the Derby without having had much experience in the sport? Why does it never seem to sink in with some new owners that if they're new, maybe they don't know enough to make the call about where to run a horse? Hire someone who does and let them do their job. You can't just point at races and say 'let's win that one.' I think that's what they thought they could do with a horse of Chrome's talent. I think that's why they didn't feel too badly about the PA Derby call. They should've learned their lesson there and didn't. What does it say when 'should know better and doesn't' is the m.o. of owners? Doing it in the beginning is one thing, but if you *keep* doing it, it's a mark against your sense and you deserve criticism for it.

Now Coburn and Perry are learning how heartbreaking the game can be. I don't question the decisions (2nd in the Dubai World Cup don't suck); I just feel bad for them, the way I feel bad for any owner who loses a good horse to injury.

(Though I do hope Perry's obsession with getting what he thinks Chrome is worth at stud leads to him coming back at 5. )

And, for what it's worth, in the wake of Chrome's Belmont, I had several friends ask me, "So why ARE new horses allowed to run in the Belmont?" Sigh.

These owners alternate between swing for the fences naivete and attempts at calculation. It's like trying to bluff at a high stakes poker game and you don't know what all the chips represent or how to calculate odds. At some point, a sensible person knows what they don't know. They stubbornly refuse to deal with that. Romance is great, but it blows up in the face of horse racing in the long term if people don't develop an appreciation of what can make this sport incredible or maddening. Of what it takes to succeed and how even if you do all the right things, you can still lose. I'm not sure how to view Perry Martin at this point. I could argue either way with him. I think Coburn's more of a tragic figure. Sherman should get sainthood for dealing with all of this.

[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.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

That's not disappointment. That's bad sportsmanship, and initially he not only didn't apologize, he doubled-down on it. Most people who lose their chance at the Triple Crown don't do this.

Seeing as how the sample size for people who lost a chance at a Triple Crown is quite small, I'm not sure what one can draw from that. All the others had a considerably longer history of racehorse ownership. Even the Sackatoga guys had been in it almost 8 years by the time Funny Cide won the Derby.

I find the pearl-clutching by horse racing fans over an owner mouthing off hilarious. Oh, heaven forfend, an owner who lost a race he thought he'd win said something rude in the heat of the moment. THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER TO HAPPEN IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT.

I'm not gonna go back and reread the great apology tour effort.

Why not? If you're going to speculate about what you think his motivations for apologizing are, it would be helpful to at least read what he actually said. It came across quite sincere to me. Sure, two days late, but he's hardly the first owner in the history of sports to have mouthed off. And he didn't use any profanity in his meltdown, which is more than you can say for the key players in many sports.

They can't be new to the sport AND claim wisdom in breeding decisions. Gotta pick one. If they knew enough to pat themselves on the back for the latter, then they aren't the former. If they relied on luck and naivete as new breeders, frankly it's irresponsible.

Being new and thinking you know more than you do are not mutually exclusive. There's a reason second-year students are called "sophomores." It roughly translates as "know it all." There are plenty of people in this world who confuse being lucky with being good.

Why does it never seem to sink in with some new owners that if they're new, maybe they don't know enough to make the call about where to run a horse?

I would argue that flaw is not limited to new owners.

These owners alternate between swing for the fences naivete and attempts at calculation. At some point, a sensible person knows what they don't know. They stubbornly refuse to deal with that.

And this year they're learning how hard the game can be, what with Chrome and now Hope's Love both out for the rest of the year. They're still new at this. Martin will have years to learn how lucky he was with Chrome and that luck like that doesn't usually strike twice (hi, Cash is King!). I'm not certain the Coburns will stay in the business, and it does sound like the friendship Coburn had with Martin is over, which is a shame. In the words of that great philosopher Cyndi Lauper, money changes everything.

In the end, I'm far less upset by an owner offending my tender sensibilities with bad on-camera behavior than I am by an owner taking a horse away from the small-time trainer that started him and giving him to a big-name trainer just as the horse is getting really good. Coburn and Perry stuck with Sherman and gave Hope's Love to Sherman's son to train. Coburn mouths off and Perry has no comprehension of how the bloodstock market works, what with his obsession with raising Chrome's stud value, but when it counted, they danced with the one that brung them, and when Art Sherman passes away (not until years from now, I hope) his obituary will lead with, "Art Sherman, Kentucky Derby winning trainer of..." Far as I'm concerned, Coburn and Martin would have to do a lot more bad to cancel out the good karma they earned by keeping the horse with Sherman for the Triple Crown.

Mind you, if Chrome does come back at 5 and Taylor Made persuades Martin to change to a bigger trainer, then I'll spew plenty of venom.

[Danzig]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...ifornia-chrome

glad to hear the plan is to race him another year.

[Kasept]

Sherman thrilled to get news that California Chrome will race at age 5
@DRFPrivman

Art Sherman got the call he hoped for yesterday when Duncan Taylor of Taylor Made Farm informed him that California Chrome would be sent back to Sherman and would race next year at age 5.

"That picked my head up," Sherman said Sunday. "He'll come back to me after another 85 days or so. Duncan Taylor has taken over all the decisions with the horse. They want him to have another big year before going to stud."

Sherman said he thought the time off right now would do California Chrome good, irrespective of the bone bruising that forced him to the sidelines.

"He never had a little break," Sherman said. "This will help him heal up. He lost about 100 to 160 pounds. He was real underweight, with all the traveling to different places. He needed to be home.

"He's going to make a nice handicap horse, I'm sure of it," Sherman said.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Sherman thrilled to get news that California Chrome will race at age 5
@DRFPrivman

Art Sherman got the call he hoped for yesterday when Duncan Taylor of Taylor Made Farm informed him that California Chrome would be sent back to Sherman and would race next year at age 5.

"That picked my head up," Sherman said Sunday. "He'll come back to me after another 85 days or so. Duncan Taylor has taken over all the decisions with the horse. They want him to have another big year before going to stud."

Sherman said he thought the time off right now would do California Chrome good, irrespective of the bone bruising that forced him to the sidelines.

"He never had a little break," Sherman said. "This will help him heal up. He lost about 100 to 160 pounds. He was real underweight, with all the traveling to different places. He needed to be home.

"He's going to make a nice handicap horse, I'm sure of it," Sherman said.

Yay! Sherman deserves this. I hope they have a ton of fun with him next year.

[Frost King]

At least now the horse is being managed by "Horse People" again.

[casp0555]