Holy Cow I Saw California Chrome!

The Cubs won the World Series (finally!) in a nail-biter of a 10-inning game (did you watch it?), and less than 24 hours later, I crossed off an item from my horsey-bucket list: seeing California Chrome in person. I’ve had a little crush on him since the 2014 Derby, Preakness and when he Tweeted me!

(If you don’t have much time to read, scroll down to see the Chrome videos. It’s okay–you have my permission.)

Some of  you know that my day job is located a few miles from Santa Anita Park. I have tried twice in the last two years to get a glimpse of America’s favorite chestnut race horse and both times I have just missed him. But setting my alarm for 4:10 a.m. and waking up at 3:50 Thursday because–I have no idea–excitement? was totally worth it.

The unicorn is real and he is every bit as majestic as I dreamed he would be.  The Breeders’ Cup is happening today and Saturday at Santa Anita and this is most likely his last race. By the way, I wasn’t the only crazy person up early to watch California Chrome and the rest of the worlds’ elite Thoroughbreds warm up for their races. The place was hopping at 5:20 a.m.

If you’ve never been to Santa Anita, you have to check out Clocker’s Corner. That’s the spot to hang out near the rail and see owners, trainers, and jockeys, walk right past you. There’s a breakfast shop order window with the same name and to my delight, the coffee was free (and good)! I was too distracted to order breakfast and by the time I thought about it after my CC sighting, the line was too long. (If you have a lot of time, go to the Seabiscuit and Zenyatta statues. Also, if you’re lucky you might get to see Seabiscuit from the movie!)

The crowd at the track is pretty friendly. Bundled up in my puffy white winter jacket, because 55 degrees before dawn by the foothills can feel colder than that, I stood at a tall table overlooking the track with several retired ladies who attend every Breeders’ Cup no matter where it’s held. (Next year is Del Mar, by the way. We should all go and hang out with Carey and Cosmo of Me Jump Pretty One Day.)

One of my new friends at the tall table told me about rescuing and bringing a feral cat into her South Carolina home. She and her sister had always wanted to do a road trip across the U.S. so they drove 600 miles a day from Charleston to Arcadia to attend this year’s Breeders’ Cup.

Another new friend said she used to help train ex-racehorses to be hunters when she was a teenager. With a trainer named Linda Tellington-Jones. I said, “THE Linda Tellington-Jones? The famous one who wrote the books?” Yes, it was indeed that Linda.

We kept up the small talk, all the while I thought it would be just my luck to be engrossed in conversation and have California Chrome gallop right past me without noticing.

Art Sherman his trainer walked past us and the hardcore racing fans alerted me, “That’s his trainer, he must be going to come out soon!”

And then on a nearby walkie talkie I heard the words, “California Chrome is on the track.”

The sun was barely up and I had my Android ready to go. But my concern was if I zoomed in the picture/video quality would be grainy because of the low light (I could have really used some advice from Vanessa, a.k.a. Lady Photographic! Isn’t her shot of California Chrome magical?). Listen to all the camera shutters sounding as he breezes by.

He galloped past and I didn’t really get to take it all in since I was focusing on the technology (the curse of our age–not enjoying the moment because we’re trying to preserve it for social media). I will say that it looked like an easy gallop. There were other horses that shot past like Ferraris. One such horse (also gorgeous) was Tourist.

He came back the other direction at a trot and all I could think was how pretty he’d be in the show ring. I texted my friend he would be awesome at the next Thoroughbred Classic Horse Show (I put an LOL because I am aware of the pipe dream quality of that thought).

So there you have it. California Chrome is real. He is stunning. And when I look back on this momentous World Series win, it will be twice as sweet for me since a horse dream with a famous, flashy chestnut was also fulfilled.

Oh, and I made it to work on time, albeit tired. I had a lot to celebrate in one 8 hour stretch.

Your Turn: Do you have a current favorite race horse? Will you watch the Breeders’ Cup? 

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