California Chrome looking for payback in Dubai

When Califoia Chrome runs in Saturday’s prestigious World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, he’ll try to join Gloria de Campeao (2010) as horses who finished second in the $10 million race and then won it the next year.

Trainer Art Sherman is confident his 5-year-old Kentucky Derby wier can tu around that ruer-up effort behind Prince Bishop a year ago in the world’s richest horse race.

“There’s a lot of good horses in this race,” Sherman said on a teleconference one day after arriving in the United Arab Emirates. “I just wouldn’t want to trade places with anybody else, I can tell you that.”

Two reasons why Sherman is so confident:

1) Chrome has had two prep races for the World Cup this year, as opposed to only one in 2015, and one of the preps came over the Meydan surface when he galloped home by 2 1/2 lengths on Feb. 25 against a group of nondescript foes while carrying 132 pounds.

2) Sherman says Chrome was a tired horse last year after a grueling Triple Crown campaign and the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a race in which he finished third. He’s plenty fresh this time around.

“I just think the R&R and the three to four months off on the farm, letting him have that good old Kentucky bluegrass ... he just tued into an individual that you caot believe,” Sherman said. “He just grew up. It makes you think, wow. If you guys saw him as a 3-year-old, you wouldn’t recognize him now. He’s just ... he’s a lot of horse.”

He’ll have to be a lot of horse in order to beat a talented field that includes Travers Stakes wier Keen Ice, Frosted, Mshawish, Hoppertunity, Mubtaahij and Candy Boy. If Chrome wins, he’ll pick up the $6 million first prize and hike his career eaings to $12,532,650, easily surpassing Curlin ($10,501,800) as the highest-eaing U.S.-based race horse of all-time.

Sherman is so confident he even remarked to a reporter recently that he thought Califoia Chrome might win by five lengths.

Apprised of that comment, Sherman chuckled.

“Oh, I might be getting a little bit, showing a little pride in my horse,” he said. “But I’ll say I watched him grow into the individual he is, since he’s been a 2-year-old and now he’s 5 and I said, ‘Wow, what a big change.’ He looks absolutely terrific, and training great.”

No one can fault the 77-year-old trainer for fawning over Califoia Chrome, who has changed Sherman’s life. He’d trained a lot of good horses before Chrome, but nothing like this.

“He’s a once in a lifetime for me,” Sherman said. “I’ve never been around ... I came up in an era with Swaps and them kind of horses that were great horses and good ruers, but to have one to train like him is once in a lifetime.

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“You know, at my age now, I look back to all the years that you train horses, and I’ll tell you, it’s quite an accomplishment for the horse and it’s quite an accomplishment for me and my family. It’s meant so much to us. We’ve had a lot of great experiences.”

One of those experiences is watching a Kentucky Derby wier still racing at age 5. That’s as rare these days as your’s truly cashing a daily double.

Califoia Chrome’s fans have been around since before the horse’s Derby victory, and they’re as visible and as vocal as ever.

“I was leaving the day before and all them ladies, the Chromies they call themselves, came over with boxes of donuts, flowers, a big party at the ba, and I said, ‘Wow, what a fanfare this horse has,’” Sherman said. “Los Alamitos (Chrome’s home base) is going to have a big breakfast that moing and have everybody over to watch the race, and they expect a pretty good crowd.

“He’s kind of Califoia’s favorite, you know? He’s got fanfare like I’ve never seen a horse. I’ve been around for a long time and I know American Pharoah had a great following, but I think the Chromies are different. It’s a different group of people ... he’s probably their hero.”

It says here their hero will win Saturday. The Chromies will be partying late into the night, and all will be right in the world for a day.

Follow Art Wilson on Twitter at @Sham73