At 77, Art Sherman is old enough to recall horse racing’s heyday. A half-century ago, he was an exercise rider for Swaps, nicknamed the California Comet, and marveled at the supercharged throngs lured to the track by the thoroughbred.
While that era has given way to quieter grandstands and clubhouses with considerable elbow room, thinned out partly because bettors can now indulge their habit with computers, Sherman yearns to recreate a semblance of those bygone scenes.
So when the owners of California Chrome, last year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, recently weighed whether to retire him after his three-year-old campaign, Sherman, his trainer, argued against it. Sherman built his case around the hope that another go-round would energize a sport plagued by a shortage of enduring headliners.
Photo: Bloomberg
With his modest pedigree, California Chrome is unlikely to draw top dollar as a stallion. Still, the common path for a Kentucky Derby winner honored as the horse of the year at age three leads to the breeding barn. The temptation for the horse’s owners, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, to send California Chrome in that direction was palpable.
However, they decided against it.
Improbably, the owners of nearly every other high achiever from last year reached the same conclusion. All 10 horses in the season-ending National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll for premier three-year-olds remain in training and are set to race this year. Of the five older entrants on the honor roll for all ages, only one, Goldencents, has closed the book.
These unlikely returns to the track set up several appealing events, starting at Santa Anita Park. California Chrome was to square off in the San Antonio Stakes yesterday against Shared Belief, who was unbeaten until a controversial bumping at the start of the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November last year dropped him to fourth place, just behind California Chrome, who finished third.
It is a rare match-up of former champions — Shared Belief ruled the two-year-old division in 2013 — early in their four-year-old campaigns. Bayern, the Classic winner, was also scheduled to run, but his trainer, Bob Baffert, changed that plan because of a sore foot.
Baffert swapped out Bayern for Hoppertunity, who was projected as the second betting choice at last year’s Kentucky Derby until he was scratched because of an injury. Hoppertunity’s presence illustrates the depth of this year’s cast.
Racing aficionados are unaccustomed to this kind of fortune.
“It seemed like every time a horse got good, poof, he was gone,” Santa Anita racing secretary Rick Hammerle said. “We got very lucky this year.”
There has also been a dearth of injuries, which often prompt owners to choose reproducing over running for their horses. Some owners may have been swayed by an outbreak of big-money races. Last year, 17 races outside the Triple Crown events and the Breeders’ Cup series offered purses of at least US$1 million.
Another factor might be the ever-shrinking foal crop, which has declined by about 40 percent from 2006. This trend has reduced opportunities for stallions, whose fees have dipped from peak periods.
And in the end, some owners might have simply decided that they prefer to cheer on their horses rather than make the sometimes financially prudent choice to shift them to breeding.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care