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Easy for California Chrome
- Updated: October 2, 2016
California Chrome enjoyed the perfect preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Classic when strolling to victory in the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita.
The Dubai World Cup winner has no peers when it comes to 10-furlong contests on dirt and he cruised around, seemingly in second gear for much of the race.
When Victor Espinoza injected some pace on the home turn, Beholder and Dortmund, top class horses in their own right, simply had no answer.
Such was the ease of his victory, Espinoza was able to ease right down on Art Sherman’s star so the winning margin was only two and a quarter lengths over Dortmund.
“When he gets in front, he’s a hard horse to get by, and I knew he’d wear Dortmund down with the fractions the way they were,” Sherman told www.bloodhorse.com.
“He took Dortmund’s game plan away from him. He tried and ran a hell of a race, but you’re looking at maybe the best horse in the world right now.”
Espinoza said: “He’s on his game right now.
“(Dortmund) wasn’t a threat today. Maybe the first quarter-mile, but after that, I just kept pulling away, which only helped me get some breathing room between us and the rest of the field.”
Sky Bet reacted by shortening California Chrome to 5/4 for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
There was a shock in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont in the clash of two former French-trained horses when Ectot beat Flintshire by five lengths on rain-softened ground.
Now with Todd Pletcher, Ectot is still owned by Al Shaqab Racing.
“He’s trained exceptionally well for us since he came in,” Pletcher said.
“He went off form in his last few starts in Europe but came to us in great condition. His races leading up to …
