Rusty Chrome fades to sixth in Pennsylvania Derby

A California-based horse won the Pennsylvania Derby, but it wasn’t California Chrome.

After not racing for 105 days, after traveling across the country for the second time this year, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner who missed the Triple Crown by less than two lengths faded to sixth place Saturday in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing. Bayern, the winner of the Haskell Invitational and off at 3-1 odds (the second choice behind California Chrome at 4-5), went gate to wire for trainer Bob Baffert, jockey Martin Garcia and owner Kaleem Shah. Bayern set a track record by running the 1 1/8 miles in 1 minute, 46.96 seconds. Tapiture was second, 5¾ lengths behind, and Candy Boy, the third California horse, finished third for trainer John Sadler.

“I thought he got tired out there,” said Art Sherman, California Chrome’s trainer. “The pace was a little bit slower. I wish he could have gone on with them. He was in a precarious spot again there on the rail. I hoped (jockey Victor Espinoza) could get him out, but he couldn’t get him out to catch those other horses. He hasn’t run in a long time, so he probably needed the race. He’ll be back.”

Alan Sherman, Art’s son and California Chrome’s assistant trainer, agreed.

“He got tired. He kind of got stuck down there on the rail,” he said. “I figured that was going to happen. He just never had a chance to get out. He’s tired, and he needed the race. He’ll be double tough next time.”

Espinoza, who guided Chrome to six straight victories this year, knows his horse, and he knew he faced a daunting task early on. The first quarter was run in a slow 24 seconds. And Espinoza thought going in that the colt might be a bit short for this tough race.

“I knew I was in trouble on the first turn,” Espinoza said. “They went out smoking out of the gate, and then they really slowed down, like they were walking in front of me. It was going to be hard to catch (Bayern). Sometimes they don’t ride to win; they ride to beat you. But I didn’t want to abuse him today. I was desperate to get him out, but I wanted him to run his race and not override him. He has a long time off. I think this race will set him up for the next one.”

Baffert wasn’t at the track, but he spoke to the media after the race via his assistant’s cellphone.

“That was just a powerful performance,” Baffert said from his home in Arcadia. “He broke well, and they let us go, and Martin hustled to get away from California Chrome. When California Chrome was pinned in there, I knew it was going to be tough for (him). He was the target — we weren’t the target. When Bayern runs like that, nobody’s going to beat him — like in the Haskell. Today he looked like he was always in command. When he shows up, he’s just brilliant. It was a great win. I’m excited about it. Bayern has shown so much brilliance that when he got beat in the Travers, it was tough to figure.”

Said Shah: “Today, Bayern showed up.”

Garcia said his only instructions were to get the son of Oflee Wild out of the gate fast and let him run.

“He loves to run on the lead, and once we got out, I knew he had enough to last,” Garcia said. “He can’t be beat when he’s on the lead like that. Last time he didn’t like the track. This time he liked the track.”

Bayern’s win sets up what is building to be a race for the ages in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Shared Belief will race in the Awesome Again Stakes against older horses next week at Santa Anita. Bayern, California Chrome and Candy Boy will have six weeks to get ready for the Classic.

“That’s why I didn’t push him,” Espinoza said of Chrome. “If I did that, he wouldn’t have anything left for the next one. He’ll be ready for that Breeders’ Cup race.”

Said Jimmy Barnes, Baffert’s assistant, about the BC Classic: “This is something we’ll just enjoy this race, and Bob and Kaleem will get together to decide on what’s next.

“But yeah, those races come to mind after a win like this.”

Said Art Sherman: “(It’s) almost sure we will go to the Classic. With this race under his belt, he’ll be a lot stronger. We’ll train him over at Los Alamitos. We’ll bring him home and get him ready for the Breeders’ Cup.”

Notes

Bayern’s sire, Oflee Wild, stands at Pin Oak Lane Farm in New Freedom, Pa. The stud fee is just $4,000. ... Untapable won the Cotillion Stakes for trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Rosie Napravnik to sew up the 3-year-old filly championship. ... The attendance Saturday was listed at 16,000-plus, but many showed up late just to see the Pennsylvania Derby, track officials said. ... The overall betting handle was $10,396,671, an 88 percent increase over the total last year.