California Chrome jogs, ready to do more at Churchill Downs

California Chrome has settled into Churchill Downs and is "feeling awful good right now" (Rickelle Nelson/Horsephotos.com) Trainer Art Sherman, coming on strong despite running on very little sleep, and California Chrome, coming on strong, too, despite not being allowed to do much running, made the Churchill Downs scene Tuesday morning and proved big hits. Both trainer and horse had jetted in from their Southern California headquarters Monday and both were ready to get on about the business of showing what the likely Kentucky Derby favorite does five days in front of America's foremost horse race. Wearing a simple green saddle cloth (his Derby cloth was misspelled and had to be redone) and with regular exercise rider Willy Delgado aboard, the chestnut colt started trackside from Barn 20 at approximately 6:45 a.m. (EDT) with Art's son and assistant -- Alan Sherman -- guiding him on a shank through traffic and the five-furlong gap. The California-bred son of Lucky Pulpit backtracked all the way around the big Churchill strip, hugging the rail all the way. Delgado reported afterward that his mount felt "more aggressive" than usual during the jog, though he responded positively to stout restraint and there were no incidents of note along the way. "He shipped good and he's doing good, just like we thought," Art Sherman said afterward. "He's a laid-back colt, so we knew the trip wasn't going to bother him. And he's feeling awful good right now, so I'm not surprised to hear he was pulling hard." Sherman said he'd have his horse back to galloping Wednesday, though he wasn't quite sure if he'd be out during the Derby/Oaks training period at 8:30 a.m., or come to the track earlier given the colt's strong want to get on with his business. He indicated he'd school in the paddock Wednesday, then stand in the gate Thursday.

"He's plenty fit to run," the trainer said. "It's mostly schooling now;

getting him used to the place."

California Chrome exercising at Los Alamitos last week (Cecilia Gustafson/Horsephotos.com) Sherman belayed his 77 years by working on about five or six hours sleep over the past two days, which included getting his horse to the airport in California at 1:30 (PDT) in the morning, then dealing with a delayed plane trip of his own, social commitments in Louisville and dozens of phone calls along the way. Still, when he met a sizable contingent of media types near Barn 20 at 9 a.m (EDT) Tuesday, he was full of smiles, all the right answers and a feel-good vibe that has made him and his colt Derby 140's most popular story. The whole California Chrome saga has just gone from good karma to better along the way, starting with owner/breeders' Steven Coburn and Perry Martin turning an $8,000 mare and a $2,500 stallion into a horse who has won more than $1 million, allowing them to turn down $6 million for 51 percent of him and taking them all to the edge of racing glory. Even the seemingly bad luck turns to good for the "Chrome Boys," as Art Sherman tells the tale. "So my wife Faye and I were flying on Southwest out of L.A. yesterday and wouldn't you know we wound up in a delay in Phoenix," he relayed. "They had an issue with a plane and had to go and get us a new crew. But that all turned out great. We meet up with (trainer) Tom Proctor, (jockeys) Mike Smith and Gary Stevens and (former jockey agent) Ronnie Ebanks. They were all headed to Louisville, too.

"So we get on the plane and we're all sitting together and we're telling

stories. And I mean to tell you this crew of guys can spin stories with the best

of them. I can't tell you half the tales that were told, but there were some

beauties. We are laughing and laughing and laughing. It was a riot. The people

on the plane around us couldn't believe how much fun we were having.

"And then, to cap it all off, as we're starting to come into Louisville,

Ronnie jumps up and gives a call of the Kentucky Derby. It was terrific; the man

should be a race caller. And he knew his audience. He had the race between

California Chrome, Hoppertunity (Smith's mount) and Candy Boy (Stevens' mount).

And he takes us right up to the finish as the plane's coming in and he says:

'And it's too close to call at the wire!' Oh, I'm telling you the whole plane

loved it. Everyone was cheering. And it was the best plane ride I'd ever had."

In other Kentucky Derby news:

General a Rod was the only Derby worker Tuesday morning under the Twin Spires (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) Starlight Racing and Skychai Racing's General a Rod worked a half-mile Tuesday in 49 2/5 to the satisfaction of trainer Mike Maker and jockey Joel Rosario. The move was the 17th fastest of 27 at the distance over a fast track. "I never worked him in the morning, and Mike asked me to be on him, and yeah, just to work for the race,'' said Rosario, who rode General a Rod to a victory in the Gulfstream Park Derby and a third-place finish in the Florida Derby. "He looked good, steady going the whole way.'' Rosario won last year's Derby aboard Orb. My Meadowview Farm's Samraat went to the track for the first time Tuesday morning and jogged twice around the oval in the wrong direction under exercise rider Rodney Paine. Winner of his first five career starts before finishing second in the TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial on April 5 at Aqueduct, Samraat shipped from New York on Monday afternoon. Trainer Rick Violette said the trip on a charter flight took five hours, stall to stall.

"It was almost like he was beamed here," Violette quipped and said the son of

Noble Causeway out of the Indian Charlie mare Little Indian Girl handled the

journey well. "He was squealing and throwing his head walking around here after

we got unpacked. He likes traveling."

Samraat and Uncle Sigh will be the ninth and 10th New York-breds to run in

the Derby since Funny Cide became the first winner from the Empire State in

2003. Violette noted that Funny Cide also finished second in the Wood.

"It's a horse race. This is a real horse," Violette said. "He's beat all but

one horse in six starts. I think he's a high-quality horse, period, as is Gary

Contessa's horse, Uncle Sigh. It's a little bit of a different breed than it

might have been years ago."

That difference, Violette said, is that the New York program has continued to

improve.

Candy Boy has impressed onlookers with his preparation for the 140th Kentucky Derby (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) "I just think New York-breds and the breeders have stepped up their game," he said. "Little Indian Girl has three stakes horses. She's a pretty nice broodmare. Noble Causeway hasn't set the world on fire, but he's by Giants Causeway and that's been a pretty good combination. Uncle Sigh was a pretty expensive two-year-old purchase and was meant to be a nice horse." Trainer Todd Pletcher chose to go light on his quartet of Derby contenders (Danza, Intense Holiday, Vinceremos and We Miss Artie) Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs and instructed his hands to simply walk the foursome around the shedrow at Barn 34 rather than take them to the track for exercise. The colts previously had worked half-miles Sunday, then jogged a full mile each on a "sloppy" track Monday. In light of his "audible" call, Pletcher was asked about instructions and audibles for his crew of riders come Derby Day. "Overall, I don't like to give riders too many instructions," the trainer noted. "My preference is to give them a general plan for the race. I might tell them I think there's a whole lot of speed in the race and that we probably want to take back, for instance. Or maybe let them know about a little quirk or situation with a particular horse. Things like that.

"But I realize that races often don't come up the way you think they will.

And that's why you've got to leave room for that 'audible' by a rider. I've got

to have trust in my riders that they'll do the right thing. And they've got to

have trust in me to understand that things don't always go as you've planned.

"In the case of a race like the Derby, the situation changes because of the

multiple entries. With a regular race where I'd only have one runner going, you

can talk your strategy in the paddock. But with the Derby, the paddock is just

too busy. I talk to my riders ahead of time then, leaving me time to deal with

all there is to do in the paddock that day."

Pletcher's four riders for the Derby are Joe Bravo (Danza), John Velazquez

(Intense Holiday), Javier Castellano (We Miss Artie) and Joe Rocco Jr. (Vinceremos).

Ride on Curlin's trainer appreciates what Hall of Famer and Kentucky Derby winner Jack Van Berg taught him (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com) Asmussen was pleased with Tapiture a day after the colt breezed four furlongs in :50 over a very sloppy track. "I'm very happy to get it in," Asmussen said. "I loved how he moved over it. I can't say enough about (exercise rider) Abel (Flores), under those conditions, being able to do what we wanted. He hit 50 right on and that's what we were aiming for with the horse." Asmussen typically does not ask much of his workers in their final work before an important stakes engagement.  "He's got a beautiful stride to him," the trainer said. "He's an extremely efficient mover. I'm definitely happy to get it in before they announced the track's closed (yesterday morning)." Chitu schooled in the gate and jogged about a mile for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert Tuesday morning. Meanwhile Hoppertunity walked the morning after his final pre-Derby work, breezing a half-mile in :48 Monday morning under the treacherous conditions. Baffert said the colt came out of the work in fine condition. "I do a lot of gate (schooling); the gate is very important here," Baffert said. "I hate when they act up in the gate. I blame myself for it. It's like a coach who doesn't use his timeouts. It's the coach's fault, right? Use them wisely."

Wildcat Red returned to the Churchill Downs racetrack Tuesday morning for a

strong 1 1/8-mile gallop under exercise rider Juan Belmonte.

"The way he went today was amazing. I'm very happy with it," trainer Jose

Garoffalo said. "We're still very optimistic."

The Fountain of Youth and Hutcheson winner had walked the shedrow Monday

morning after breezing five furlongs in 1:04 2/5 at Churchill Sunday morning.

"It seems he likes the track. I saw a big difference between today and

Sunday," Garoffalo said of the Florida Derby runner-up. "He's full of himself."

Ride On Curlin galloped Tuesday under exercise rider Bryan Beccia for trainer

Billy Gowan. Gowan is quick to praise the legendary trainer Jack Van Berg for

bringing him up in the business. Gowan completed an internship under Van Berg as

the final requirement for Gowan to receive an equine degree from Louisiana Tech.

He wound up working 4 1/2 years for Van Berg.

"He makes you learn," Gowan said. "He wants you to learn. Where a lot of

people won't tell you anything, Jack, he will explain stuff to you. He'll feel

the horse's legs, and he'll make you feel the horse's legs, and he'll ask you,

'What did you feel?' And then, if you don't see what he sees, he'll call you a

dumbass, and he'll show you what it is. You just learn.

"And I remember one time we were going to look at horses' legs, walking down,

he'd check 60 horses' legs every morning. And the grooms had to stand there with

the webbings open, and he'd go in there and check them, and there was a note

pad, and he'd write down what to do them up in -- ice, this, blah, blah. blah. I

walked in there one morning, probably about half-asleep or whatever. He slapped

me on the back and he said: 'You look at that horse when you walk in that stall.

See what you see.' It's attention to detail. And he would explain

everything...We'd be out on the pony. I galloped a lot of horses for him. And

he'd tell you about times, or why you do this, or why you gallop this way.

Always just telling you. Always teaching. He loved to teach."

Medal Count galloped 1 1/2 miles under exercise rider Faustino Aguilar during

the Oaks and Derby training session. Prior to the exercise, the Blue Grass

Stakes runner-up stood motionless by the half-mile gap for five minutes,

enjoying another opportunity to acclimate to his surroundings.

"Everything went fine," trainer Dale Romans said.

Medal Count could be the last Derby starter by Dynaformer, the hugely

influential stallion who died two years ago today -- April 29, 2012.

"I think he was a very good sire," Romans said. "If we could get a good

Dynaformer colt in the breeding shed I think it would be important for the

future of racing. Those are good, rugged, hearty horses"

Dynaformer most famously sired ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro.

Trainer John Sadler sent his Kentucky Derby charge Candy Boy to the track

Tuesday morning just as the special Derby/Oaks training period began following

the mid-morning renovation break. Exercise rider Jelani Grant was at the

controls and steered the husky colt through a strong gallop of 1 1/2 miles on

the big Churchill oval. Back at Barn 43 afterwards, Sadler was pleased with the

exercise for his son of Candy Ride and said everything was moving forward in

their quest for honors in Derby 140.

"He's doing well here," Sadler said. "Tomorrow and Thursday, I'll stand him

in the gate. He'll school with horses for the first race this afternoon."

When Robby Albarado commited to ride Medal Count in this Derby, veteran

jockey Shaun Bridgmohan landed the mount on Commanding Curve for trainer Dallas

Stewart.

"It's always nice to ride in the Derby,'' said Bridgmohan, who will be riding

in his sixth Derby. His best finish was sixth on Santiva on 2011.

Bridgmohan called Commanding Curve "a very improving three-year-old that's

coming into himself at the right time."

"Definitely, the distance is in his favor," Bridgmohan said. "He's such a

kind horse. He does everything nice and easy."