California Chrome Might Race In England After All

When we last checked in with 2014 Kentucky Derby/Preakness winner California Chrome he had been scratched from the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot with a foot injury. Trainer Art Sherman assured the media that it wasn’t particularly serious and now it seems as if he wasn’t kidding. California Chrome has been pre-entered in another race on English soil…er….turf–the July 4 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park.

The 1 1/4 mile race on turf is the biggest event of the Sandown meet for horses age 3 and up with a purse of £450,000. The ‘best case scenario’ is for Chrome to race here and then return to the United States to train for the August 15 Arlington Million. That all depends on how his bruised foot is healing–‘Plan B’ is to skip the race and not have a ‘tune up’ for the Arlington Million.

Trainer Art Sherman explained the thinking: “I took an X-ray, and the foot is perfect as far as nothing is penetrating it. It is just an abscess that is going to come to a head. Sometimes it takes 10 days, but sometimes it takes two weeks. If he misses two weeks of training, I’m afraid he might miss that race, and the next race is the Arlington Million, so he’ll have to come home. We will wait and see how he responds to treatment.”

California Chrome will retire to stud after this season. After the possible start in the Coral-Eclipse and the Arlington Million the plan is to run him in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park followed by his career swansong in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.

Sherman along with co-owner Steve Coburn did travel to England for the Royal Ascot despite the fact that Chrome was unable to run. Sherman mused when asked for a comment from the media: “This horse has taken us on a lot of rides.”

California Chrome is one of 30 horses pre-entered for the Coral-Eclipse. This will keep him eligible until post positions are set several days before the race. That being said, you can expect an official word from his connections whether he’ll race or not well before that.