California Chrome Takes on Shared Belief in Classic Rematch

It is simply being billed as The Rematch. The 2014 Horse of the Year, California Chrome, renews acquaintances with Shared Belief on Saturday in the $500,000 San Antonio Invitational at Santa Anita. 

The race gets the Jockey Club Tour on Fox off to a rousing start. The two-hour telecast on Fox Sports 1 kicks off at 5:30 p.m. ET and will feature the $500,000 Donn Handicap and $300,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap from Gulfstream Park, as well as the $200,000 San Marcos Stakes from Santa Anita Park.

California Chrome and Shared Belief last met on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. At stake that day, in addition to a huge payday, was the Eclipse Award for top three-year-old and Horse of the Year honors.

Shared Belief, owned by Jim Rome's Jungle Racing Stables and partners, came into the race having won all seven of his career starts, including beating older in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic and Awesome Again Stakes. He was sent to the starting gate as the 5-2 betting favorite.

California Chrome came into the Classic with question marks. The Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner had his Triple Crown bid derailed in the Belmont Stakes, where he was fourth, and then was a disappointing sixth in the Pennsylvania Derby after a three-and-a-half month summer break.

The Classic also featured Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, and Haskell Invitational and Pennsylvania Derby winner Bayern.

The entire complexion of the Classic changed within seconds of the gate opening, as the speedy Bayern broke inward sharply out of the gate, interfering with Shared Belief. Bayern went on to wire the field while Shared Belief had to settle for a troubled fourth.

There was a steward’s inquiry over the start of the race, but no change was made, although many fans and horseplayers thought Bayern should have been disqualified from the victory.

Bayern was also pointing toward the San Antonio, but foot issues will keep the speedy colt on the sidelines for now. Baffert, however, will still be well represented, saddling the talented Hoppertunity.

Since the Classic, California Chrome came back to win the Hollywood Derby, his first start on turf, giving him his fourth Grade 1 race in 2014, which wrapped up the Eclipse Award for top three-year-old and Horse of the Year.

Shared Belief came back to run in the seven-furlong Malibu on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. The Jerry Hollendorfer trainee got up inside the final furlong to win by a neck over Conquest Two Step, who came back to win the Palos Verdes in his next outing on Jan. 31.

Both horses are possibilities for the $10 million Dubai World Cup in March. California Chrome is currently at early Dubai World Cup betting odds of 15-1 for the world’s richest race while Shared Belief is at odds of 8-1.

While the top two are going to garner much of the betting action, don’t forget about Baffert’s Hoppertunity. The colt ran second to California Chrome in last year’s Santa Anita Derby and was going to be the second choice on the morning line for the Kentucky Derby, but foot issues knocked him out just days before the race.

Garry Jones/Associated Press

"When you're under the radar or when expectations are too high, it's not fun," Baffert told Bloodhorse. "If you don't win (as the favorite), they dog your horse. If you do win (with a longshot), you got lucky."

The colt was impressive winning his last two starts—the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 28 and the San Pasqual over the Santa Anita main track on Jan. 10.

The Jockey Club Tour on Fox has not released its full schedule for 2015 but will feature the top races throughout the year leading up to the Breeders’ Cup. There were 10 telecasts in 2014.

Greg Wolf, Richard Migliore, Andy Serling, Simon Bray and Alyssa Ali will once again handle the on-air duties, with recently retired track announcer Tom Durkin offering commentary each telecast.

The Jockey Club Tour on Fox will spotlight three charitable organizations: Autism Speaks, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation. America’s Best Racing has announced a strategic partnership with Autism Speaks, and the on-air personalities will all be wearing Autism Speaks lapel pins.

Selections for San Antonio: Shared Belief – Hoppertunity – California Chrome

Follow Michael Dempsey on Twitter @turfnsport