Litigant: will be running for just the second time for Joe Tuite at Ascot
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Tuite dreaming of Group 2 glory with Litigant
JOE TUITE says no-one knows just how good Litigant could be as he dreams of Group 2 glory at Ascot with his Ebor winner.
The seven-year-old Litigant is as as short as 12-1 for the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup on Saturday as Tuite prepares to saddle him for only the second time in a stop-start career.
RELATED LINKS
The trainer is under no illusions as to the task faced on paper by Litigant, who was racing from a handicap mark of 99 when he won at York but now takes on established Group performers and some rapid improvers.
But he said: “He’s been beaten twice in his life – once first time out at two, and the other time on his first run over here [in Britain], when it was only a mile and three at Kempton and he’d have won in another stride.
“He travelled very strongly into the Ebor and got there too soon. I expect Wicklow Brave, who was second there, will run an even bigger race with Ryan Moore taking over, and you would have to respect the likes of Flying Officer and Pallasator, and plenty of others too, but nobody knows yet how good Litigant is.”
French trip no concern
Tuite dismisses fears that the recent abortive trip to France for the Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend, where the ground was deemed too fast, has taken anything out of the fragile Litigant.
He said: “He travelled brilliantly to France and had a nice few days stabled in Chantilly, then having missed his race there we worked him the other day over at Geoffrey Deacon’s on those superb grass gallops at Compton. He worked the best I’ve ever seen him.
“He’s had a lovely clear run with no hold-ups since the Ebor and I couldn’t have him better. It’s a case now of whether he’s good enough or not, but I don’t think he’ll be out with the washing.”
Fragile – handle with care
Litigant has raced just eight times in his career, which started with Andre Fabre in March 2011, around the same time Long Run was winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
After three runs for Fabre, Litigant then spent 28 months off the course before returning for Seamus Durack and new owner Tony Byrne in November 2013.
After four runs for Durack, which included winning the stayers’ race on All-Weather finals day, Litigant spent 16 months off the course before winning the Ebor on his first start for Joe Tuite.
California Chrome Back Home in Sherman Barn
Photo: Alexis Garske
It was hard to tell who was happier Oct. 13 when California Chrome returned toLos Alamitos Race Course—trainer Art Sherman or the 4-year-old colt himself.
As the truck and trailer carrying the chestnut colt turned into view at the Cypress, Calif., racetrack, the 78-year-old trainer could hardly contain himself.
“Uh oh,” Sherman said, breaking into a version of Richard Wagner’s ‘Ride of the Valkyries.’ “Here we go. It feels like a Rocky movie.”
California Chrome responded in kind, bellowing out a loud neigh as he approached the Sherman barn and playfully peeking out of the trailer window to get a good look at the home he left March 17.
It’s been a long road back to the Golden State, where California Chrome was bred by owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn (Coburn’s share has since been acquired by Taylor Made Stallions). A second-place finish in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) March 28 was followed by well-documented and controversial voyage to England, then trips to Chicago and Kentucky, but no more races.
The horse that walked off the trailer Tuesday, however, didn’t look like the skinny one seen in photos earlier this season.
Traveling around the walking ring, the 2014 Horse of the Year’s coat gleamed in the hot Southern California sun, and he looked heartier. Assistant trainer Alan Sherman said since the colt was sent to Taylor Made over the summer, California Chrome has put on around 160 pounds.
“He’s significantly larger than he was when he was a 3-year-old,” Art Sherman said. “He looks great.”
With a smile plastered on the elder Sherman’s face, the Lucky Pulpit colt was loaded into his custom-built, double-wide stall, which Alan Sherman called “California King” sized. Only a day before, the Shermans had a wall knocked out between two stalls to give the dual classic winner some extra room. He greeted his new enclosure with a few rolls in the hay to make it just right.
“What do you think, big boy?” Art Sherman said to the colt from the front of the stall.
Moving forward, the Shermans will be taking their time with their prized pupil, who counts last year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) among his wins. He’ll tack walk the shed row at Los Alamitos Oct. 14 and should be jogging soon.
Art Sherman said it will take a full 90 days to get California Chrome back into shape and that his first target will be the San Pasqual Handicap (gr. II) in January at Santa Anita Park, with another run in Dubai and the Breeders’ Cup all part of a tentative plan for his 5-year-old season. But the immediate challenges of training stand out.
“He’s hasn’t had a saddle on him in over three months and he’s a lot of horse,” Art Sherman said. “I’m glad I’m not getting on him, because he might be doing a couple handstands.”
Those challenges can wait, though. In the day-by-day business of horse training, Tuesday was a happy one because the big horse was back home. Art Sherman was not going to overextend beyond that, looking forward or behind.
“He’s taken us to spots few people have been and it’s exciting to have a horse like that, but I don’t like to backpedal, especially in this business,” the trainer said. “Things have a way of turning around. What goes around, comes around, and I’m a big believer of that in life.
“It’s going to be a challenge to get him back to his peak, but there’s a chance he could be a better horse. You just don’t know. If he’s better, he’s going to be an awesome horse next year.”
