On a slightly overcast and sometimes rainy day, it was off to Santa Anita Park to catch the California Chrome vs Shared Belief battle in the San Antonio Invitational with a Grade 2 rating that was by default upgraded to Grade 1.
There seemed to be a buzz in the air. Partially driven by my own excitement, but also by the atmosphere of Santa Anita. Parking attendants were out early directing traffic, not something I usually see. Fox Sports had their media vans in place. Food vendors were out selling kettle corn. And you could hear the discussions between individuals debating California Chrome vs Shared Belief.
Come 4:00 p.m.-ish, the crowd around the walking ring to greet California Chrome (Victor Espinoza/Art Sherman) and Shared Belief (Mike Smith/Jerry Hollendorfer) was four or five deep in certain areas. Some individuals could be seen standing atop the benches so that they could get a better view. Purple dotted the crowd. There was definitely a fan desire for California Chrome to win. And yet, the betting crowd (which is largely the same crowd) was for Shared Belief. Well, I think bettors have a brain and a heart. The heart desires one thing, but the brain tells you another. From my viewpoint at the walking ring, Shared Belief looked better than California Chrome. Maybe this isn't the most accurate betting clue out there, but California Chrome was foaming at the mouth while walking the ring. I consider this a negative sign. I have this grading system for when a horse is foaming at the mouth: 1/2/3. Three is when there is just a layer of white foam around the mouth, which doesn't impact my betting. One is when the horse is just dripping foam and if my horse is in category 1, I'll change my bet. California Chrome was a two in my book. That tipped my hand towards Shared Belief and off I went to bet a $1 exacta: 5-8. Would I have gladly traded losing a $1 to see California Chrome win? Most definite, but my brain just told me to go in a different direction.
The race started and the speed horse Alfa Bird took the lead in the first turn with California Chrome and Shared Belief going 2 and 3 wide. Both California Chrome and Shared Belief were in their perfect spots tucked behind Alfa Bird. The order and distance between the 3 horses basically stayed the same throughout the backstretch. Then at the start of the 2nd turn, California Chrome started to pick it up. By the middle of the turn, California Chrome had shot pass Alfa Bird and Shared Belief followed. Not to be forgotten in all of this was Bob Baffert's Hoppertunity (Martin Garcia) who briefly challenged for perhaps 2 strides and then gave up the chase. This was the only challenge for California Chrome and Shared Belief. The crowd was treated to what it wanted, a 2 horse dual without any interference from the other horses. The crowd noise grew as California Chrome pulled away and then there was anxiety as Shared Belief gathered and eventually pulled ahead for the win. Shared Belief went on to a 1.5 length win though Espinoza did appear to put away the whip at the end as it became obvious that victory wasn't to be.
In a grand moment, Mike Smith took Shared Belief to the front of the grand stands and gave a fist pump. Why not, it was a brilliant race by Shared Belief.
Is Shared Belief the better horse? It sure appears so. I love California Chrome, but I just don't think the Chrome has much of a kick in the final stretch. To me, California Chrome is a horse who can get a burst of early speed in order to get his position. He can then kick it in the turn to get up front at the start of the stretch, but when it comes to the final stretch I'm not sure he can kick it up another notch as he's already done so twice already. To me, California Chrome needs to secure a 3-ish length lead at the start of the stretch to win. If he leads by less and another horse has that ability to kick it in the final furlong, he isn't going to keep his lead. On the other hand, at least among U.S. racing horses, I suspect there are only a handful of horses who can challenge California Chrome. Hoppertunity is obviously not one of those horses.
The San Antonio Invitational wasn't the only major stakes race of the day. There was also the Robert B. Lewis race featuring Dortmund (Bob Baffert/Martin Garcia) and Firing Line (Simon Callaghan/Gary Stevens). This was a two horse race for Kentucky Derby points. Both had previously met in a thrilling Los Alamitos Futurity race with Dortmund winning by a nose. In the Futurity, Firing Line was in front of Dortmund and got chased down at the wire. In the Robert B. Lewis, Dortmund went ahead of Firing Line. Tizcano (Peter Miller/Martin Pedroza) did go to the front, but that only lasted for a bit. By the time the final turn arrived, Tizcano was drifting back and it was a Dortmund/Firing Line race. At the start of the stretch, Firing Line took the lead and it looked like he was going to win it going away, but Dortmund gathered and won by a neck.
For my betting, I went with Firing Line. At the Los Alamitos Futurity, they both carried the same weight and went for a thrilling finish. For the Robert B. Lewis, Dortmund was carrying 5 pounds over. I figured that Firing Line would gain an advantage. Oh well, Dortmund was a beast. Here's hoping Firing Line does earn enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby. After two duals with Dortmund, he deserves a shot at winning the Kentucky Derby. There shouldn't be any shame coming up a neck short in two races to a horse that is definitely getting invited to the Kentucky Derby.
There were a number of other awesome races at Santa Anita at the lower levels. Race 6 was awesome with 68:1 odds Solid Wager edging Logan's Moon. Also, in race 4, Battle of Evermore broke the maiden in a tight downhill race against first time starter Young and Hungry.
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