San Diego Hcp

[Dusty]

California Chrome, as expected, back on Lasix for San Diego tomorrow. Field of 5. Hard Aces and Soi Phet scratched for spots Sunday

Well....Chrome should romp - HOPE HE DOES

[Zenyatta]

Well....Chrome should romp - HOPE HE DOES

I think he should too. Perhaps we should take wagers on by how many lengths? I say 6 1/2.

[Dusty]

I say 4 = Victor will gear him down

[Zenyatta]

Wow! OK, it was more like 6 1/2 inches. Good time, that final 5/16 must have been FAST!

[Dusty]

WHEW! That was a RACE

[BaroqueAgain1]

   Dortmund made it a bit closer than I thought he would after that long layoff. He should improve off this race and, unless 'Chrome also improves, it's possible that Dortzilla could get his Kaiju-sized nose in front next time.
   Dang, the Pacific Classic is looking like it could be the best race of the year...until the BC, at least. 

[Diver52]

It's possible that Stevens and Espinoza will be caught up with each other stalking and Dortzilla could sneak away.  Right now my strategy might be to put the pedal to the metal on D.  A slowish pace just let CC stay close.  But mostly I just hope they both show up in the PC with Beholder.  Great race by both.

[CA_Chrome]

Both horses were coming off layoffs, although Dortmund's was longer.

Neither horse was geared up 100% for this race.

Chrome was giving Dortmund 5 pounds.

Many think Dortmund is best between 1 mile and 1 1/8ths.

Chrome has been running classic distances and had to shorten up from 1 1/4 to 1 1/16th.

Dortmund did get even with Chrome in the stretch, but Chrome was pulling away at the end which tells me the longer they would have gone, the more Chrome would have won by.

[Zenyatta]

It's possible that Stevens and Espinoza will be caught up with each other stalking and Dortzilla could sneak away.  Right now my strategy might be to put the pedal to the metal on D.  A slowish pace just let CC stay close.  But mostly I just hope they both show up in the PC with Beholder.  Great race by both.

Dortmund will need to find another rider, because there's no way Stevens is going to opt for him over Beholder.

[Zenyatta]

Both horses were coming off layoffs, although Dortmund's was longer.

Neither horse was geared up 100% for this race.

Chrome was giving Dortmund 5 pounds.

Many think Dortmund is best between 1 mile and 1 1/8ths.

Chrome has been running classic distances and had to shorten up from 1 1/4 to 1 1/16th.

Dortmund did get even with Chrome in the stretch, but Chrome was pulling away at the end which tells me the longer they would have gone, the more Chrome would have won by.

Completely agree with everything you say. When you look at the final 16th, you can see Dortmund's ears are pinned during the stretch duel while CC is not being pushed as much after the initial "uh-oh, he's not going to cave" moment, when Victor calls for an extra burst from Chrome.

If I were his connections, I'd place Dortmund in the BC Dirt Mile. He'd be hard to beat there. Or if he's lucky he'll draw an outside post like Bayern, take out half the field coming out of the gate, win, and not be taken down. Meow.

[peeptoad]

Just watched the replay... excellent race by both horses. Chrome the expected winner didn't disappoint and props to Dortmund putting in a great run off the shelf. I agree that, had the race been 10F, Chrome wins by a larger margin. Dort's best might cap out around 9F, but we'll see. He's got room for improvement; hopefully they can keep him healthy.

Let's see if the Dubai Bounce theory can be laid to rest. Between Frosted, Chrome, Lady Shipman, etc... I think it's on the road to being debunked. If a particular horse can run well of a layoff, then there's no real reason why that particular layoff should be an issue.

[curtis]

Dortmund will need to find another rider, because there's no way Stevens is going to opt for him over Beholder.

Has Baffert ever said anything concrete about Dortmund running back in the Pacific Classic?  If so, why even use Gary yesterday?  He had to know there would be a conflict upcoming.  He's usually a little more calculating than that.

[stark]

California Chrome earned 111 Beyer Figure in thrilling G2 San Diego on Saturday at Del Mar. Dortmund, runner-up by half-length, earned 110.

[curtis]

Completely agree with everything you say. When you look at the final 16th, you can see Dortmund's ears are pinned during the stretch duel while CC is not being pushed as much after the initial "uh-oh, he's not going to cave" moment, when Victor calls for an extra burst from Chrome.

If I were his connections, I'd place Dortmund in the BC Dirt Mile. He'd be hard to beat there. Or if he's lucky he'll draw an outside post like Bayern, take out half the field coming out of the gate, win, and not be taken down. Meow.

Bayern was the best horse that day, but I digress....

With all the left-handed compliments that are being directed at Dortmund, I'm wondering just how many horsepeople are really on here?  Don't you guys know that horses are more comfortable being approached from the left with the right hand?😉 

[Diver52]

Oops, I forgot that Gary rides Beholder!     I also agree he may not want 10 furlongs and CC is comfortable at the distance, but I'm not ready to say he can't turn the tables given his long layoff. 

Good question why Baffert used Stevens rather than Bejarano.