It’s been a Fairy Tale come true at the Kentucky Derby run at Churchill Downs and The Preakness Stakes run at Pimlico on the first and third Saturday of May, 2014. CALIFORNIA CHROME, a chestnut colt with four white socks and a big white blaze down his forehead justified favouritism to win the 140^th running of the first leg of the American Triple Crown and followed it up with a bloodless victory two weeks later to nail the Second Leg. His fans have been singing that hugely popular hit from the Mamas and Papas called California Dreaming. His victories are a rag to riches story and proved that Horseracing is all about dreams and this time it was a dream that came true.

Described as a “Blue Collar” Equine Hero, the story of California Chrome makes the mind boggle. He’s owned by Steve Coburn and Perry Martin who raced under the registered partnership called DAP – DUMB ASS PARTNERS. The twosome was part of an Ownership Consortium which bought a filly named Love The Chase back in 2008. She flopped totally so the Syndicate decided to sell her and Coburn and Martin formed their own little Partnership to buy her and thus was born Dumb Ass Partners.

They paid $8000/- for Love The Chase who never ever saw the winning post after that. Rather than get rid of her the duo, who the experts said were clueless, decided to breed from her. Their reason being that three to four generations down the line the filly was related to Swaps the winner of the Kentucky Derby back in 1955. In addition they felt she had the blood since she had horses like Mr. Prospector and Northern Dancer appearing in her pedigree.

They sent her to a Sire named Lucky Pulpit – a stallion who had won just thrice from 22 starts at a modest covering fee of just $2000/-. His progeny generally sold at about $10000 to $15000 and none had achieved anything to write home about. 

The outcome was chestnut colt with four white feet and a white blaze. The Partners and their wives met for dinner at a restaurant to celebrate the birth of the foal and put a couple of names into a hat to decide what to call him. The Waitress attending on them was asked to draw and she drew California Chrome. That’s how he came to be named.

They now needed a trainer to school California Chrome so they picked a 77 year old veteran named Art Sherman who had a modest string of 15 horses under his care. The main reason they picked him was because Art had been the exercise rider of Swaps (who had won the Kentucky Derby in 1955) who was related to California’s Chrome’s mother. They got in touch with Sherman and told him that they wanted him to train “Our Derby Horse”.

Sherman may have chuckled at the Dumb Ass naiveté, but he soon realised that he had something special when the Colt won the Graduation Stakes back in July 2013. Sure enough three days before Christmas the same year, California Chrome came into his own reeling off four straight wins the last of which included the Santa Anita Derby. American Racing suddenly had a new star on the horizon and he came from a background which the common man call his own.

This was no bred in the blue thoroughbred costing millions, trained by a Hall Of Fame Professional destined to become a champion from the time he was bought. Far from it.  This was a home bred – he was from the backstreets. He was the Rocky Balboa of American Racing and like Rocky, California Chrome has already become a legend by winning the Kentucky Derby on the 3^rd of May and following it up a fortnight with a win in the Preakness. Frankly speaking he didn’t really work up a sweat to do it and he’s now extended that winning streak to an unbeaten half dozen.

So does it end here or will California Chrome become the 12^th horse in the History of the American Turf to win the Triple Crown, which comprises the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. He’s nailed two already and the US hasn’t seen a Triple Crown winner since 1978 when Affirmed and Cauthen created history. Will California Chrome emulate that feat?  The next three weeks will tell but until then the Dumb Ass Partners can bask in their moment of glory and their Racing Silks which sports a Donkey embossed on the back has given them the last he haw.