2014 Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome has been scratched from his second straight scheduled start in Europe. He had been scheduled to run in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot but will have to rest as he recovers from a bruised foot. It’s not serious, but it will keep him out of action for at least several weeks.
California Chrome shipped to England after his second place run in the Dubai World Cup in March. The plan was to race several times there including a big appearance at Royal Ascot. So far, that hasn’t happened. California Chrome was scratched from his first scheduled UK race–the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on May 16–and the Royal Ascot stewards have confirmed his withdrawal from the Prince of Wales Stakes due to lameness. For now, California Chrome continues to stable at Newcastle though what happens next remains to be seen. Most horse racing insiders suggest that he’ll be heading back to the United States in advance of the late summer/early fall races but nothing has been confirmed.
Newcastle based trainer Rae Guest has been in charge of Chrome’s efforts in England and despite the disappointment of the horse not being able to run his long term prognosis is good: “He’s been X-rayed and there’s no damage, there’s just a bit of pus, and it will take a few days to come right. It’s just a minor thing but it’s very disappointing. It’s inconvenient timing, and he will probably be back to 100 percent in a couple of days.”
He continued to say that the real shame is that UK fans wont be able to watch him run: “It’s a shame that European racing fans won’t get to see him in action. Everybody has put in a lot of work and was looking forward to seeing him run. The main thing is that it’s not life-threatening or anything, it could be much worse for the horse, and while it’s disappointing for us, the key thing is that the horse is OK.”
So far no word from Chrome’s US based trainer Art Sherman about his horse’s schedule.