Two Horses, 59 Years Apart, Inspire One Trainer

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - On a recent morning, as the sun rose over the edge of the grandstand, the trainer of the expected Kentucky Derby favorite leaned against a railing as he waited for his prized colt to emerge for his daily gallop.

The trainer, Art Sherman, and the horse, California Chrome, have overtaken Los Alamitos Race Course, a quarter-horse track about 30 miles south of Santa Anita, with the type of brashness normally reserved for its cowboy inhabitants.

Because of a near collision during training a few weeks ago, California Chrome, who has won four straight races by a combined 24 lengths, including the Santa Anita Derby, has the track to himself for a half-hour every morning. Dr. Edward Allred, the track's owner and one of Sherman's clients, made certain of it.

'I'm getting spoiled here,' Sherman said. 'But they'll probably be glad when this is over with because they'll get their track back.'

Not that anyone here is complaining. Los Alamitos - 'Home of the Superstar California Chrome,' as its marquee proclaims - will begin hosting thoroughbred meets this summer, and the new loam track, with the longest homestretch in North America, has lured plenty of top California trainers, especially those displaced by Hollywood Park's closure.

'It's been fun to have him here, for sure,' said Orlando Gutierrez, Los Alamitos's marketing and publicity director. 'You just can't buy that kind of publicity. It boosts our credibility.'

California Chrome, the first foal for the owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn, comes from an $8,000 mare and a middling sire. The last California-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby was Decidedly in 1962, and only three have accomplished the feat.

But that is not deterring his blue-collar owners, who fit right in at a track like Los Alamitos.

'We're blessed to have this colt,' said Coburn, who, dressed in Wranglers and a cowboy hat, held court in Santa Anita's winner's circle three weeks ago.

'I mean, the moon and the stars, everything, was lined up just right in the universe when Love the Chase was bred to Lucky Pulpit.'

That Sherman, 77, is at the heart of this bonanza is almost as surprising. Sherman, the trainer of multiple graded stakes winners but never a Derby entrant, has downsized his operation to around 17 runners, from about 50. Soon to be a great-grandfather, he recently moved with his wife, Faye, into a 55-and-older community in Rancho Bernardo, Calif.

From Wednesday to Sunday, he shares a house near Los Alamitos with his youngest son, Alan, who helps him run the barn. His oldest son, Steve, has his own training operation in Northern California.

Asked about retirement, Sherman said, 'What's that?'

'It's not in my vocabulary, that word 'retirement,' ' he said. 'I love the action. I like the challenge of coming up with a good horse. I like buying 2-year-olds. It gives you something to look forward to.'

What Sherman has to look forward to is Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

Although he has never saddled a horse in the race, he was there as an 18-year-old exercise rider, for a Derby victor no less. In 1955, he slept in the same boxcar as Swaps as the horse, known as the California Comet, made his way from the Golden to the Bluegrass State.

A Winner Called Swaps

Sherman was born in Brooklyn, what he thinks is now Williamsburg - 'but gosh if I know anything about that' - and moved to California at age 7. The idea of becoming a jockey was planted by patrons at his father's barbershop, who noticed that Sherman, now 5 feet 2, had the same small makeup as his parents.

At 17, Sherman found work at Rex Ellsworth's California ranch, home to the prominent stallion Khaled. There, under Ellsworth and the trainer Mesh Tenney, Sherman learned how to breed horses, take care of them, ride them. He learned cowboy methods, which made cattle hands smile and Kentucky blue bloods snicker. Sherman and the others fed the horses nutrient-rich pellets, instead of hay and oats, and preferred to give them a simple, not pampered, life.

'They were cowboys; it was a little harsh,' Sherman said. 'I don't train horses like they did. But there were a few tricks that I learned from them over the years.'

Swaps, a Santa Anita Derby winner and a son of Khaled, arrived at the 1955 Kentucky Derby on a four-race winning streak and carrying the hopes of California racing fans. But Nashua, the class of the East, stood in his way.

Under the future Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker, Swaps took command soon after the start and fended off a challenge by Nashua to win by one and a half lengths.

'When we brought Swaps out against Nashua and Summertan and all those good horses back there, they didn't think we had a chance,' Sherman said. 'California didn't beat nobody. Well, who did he beat?'

The victory by Swaps touched off a rivalry that led to a match race in 1955 that was won by Nashua as Swaps battled a hoof injury.

'I'm still sick to my stomach over that one,' Sherman, who was in attendance, said.

Sherman returned to the Derby in 1956 with Terrang, who finished 12th. Soon after, he embarked on a 21-year career as a jockey, picking up mounts whenever he could, even on quarter horses.

During his riding career, Sherman met Richard M. Nixon, then the vice president, who happened to go to his high school. And Sherman was congratulated by the Hall of Famer Eddie Arcaro after defeating him.

'I'll never forget that because after the race he came by and put his arm around me and said, 'You run a good race, son,' ' Sherman said. 'Man, that was it. That was my idol. He could do things that I've never seen riders do.'

Sherman met his wife on a blind date while he was riding in Chicago. She worked for the Illinois Central Railroad and knew nothing about his line of work.

'When I first went to the track, I thought it was the most boring thing that's ever been done,' said Faye Sherman, who went on to work at the Bay Meadows racetrack's gift shop for 30 years.

Sherman switched from riding to training in 1976 and saddled plenty of winners, but he never had a Derby horse, his own Swaps, as he likes to say.

That is, until now.

'Bring It Home Chrome'

On Saturday, about 300 people showed up at Los Alamitos for California Chrome's final workout before heading to Kentucky. A podium was built for Sherman to address the crowd. Afterward, Sherman and jockey Victor Espinoza signed autographs for Chromies, as they affectionately call the colt's fans.

This weekend, on thoroughbred racing's biggest day, the track will become the headquarters of California Chrome's fan club.

Not to be outdone, Santa Anita is selling tickets to the California Chrome Zone, which come with a T-shirt that says, 'Bring It Home Chrome.'

'They're going to have a California Chrome drink,' Sherman said. 'Don't know what the heck they will put in that.'

Even California Chrome's competition seems to be rooting for him.

'When that horse won, I was so happy for him because I've been in that position,' said Bob Baffert, the trainer of Hoppertunity, a Derby contender and the Santa Anita runner-up.

He added of Sherman: 'For him to go all those years, I wish every trainer can feel that feeling of running in the Kentucky Derby. It's an unbelievable feeling. When you win the Santa Anita Derby like that going in, what a ride. That's why we work seven days a week; we work all our lives for that moment.'

Sherman won his first race at Hollywood Park as a jockey and won the track's final stakes race, the King Glorious, with California Chrome. And his career has come full circle in other ways, too: California Chrome is a California-bred horse who even has Swaps way back in his pedigree.

Sherman feels young again. He practically sprints to the track to watch his horse and then rushes back to the barn to supervise the colt's meticulous bath routine.

Really, Sherman fits right in at Los Alamitos. He wears a snap-button shirt and a bronze belt buckle that depicts a horse in full flight. He wears his iPhone on his belt, and when it rings, as it has a lot lately, he answers, 'Yo.' There is even an Art Sherman special - petit filet, lobster and shrimp - at the track's restaurant, one of the priciest items on the menu.

He is quick to point out that California Chrome is not Swaps, at least not yet, although he uses 'spooky' and 'freaky' to describe the horses' running styles.

'It's hard to take away from Swaps,' Sherman said. 'He had all those world records. But California Chrome has the same habits that Swaps had as far as letting people touch him and take his picture. Swaps knew he was a champion. And this horse is the same way.'

Sherman never tires of talking about Swaps, especially after a couple of martinis, his son Alan joked as he sat in their racing office. The walls are lined with winner's circle pictures, some of Alan as a jockey.

As he spoke, he kept an eye on what he calls the Chrome Cam, a feed from a camera that was installed to protect their prized colt.

At home in Rancho Bernardo, Faye Sherman said that all of her husband's memorabilia, some of it from his time with Swaps, was still packed away in the garage. And a statue of Swaps from Hollywood Park is still sitting in storage awaiting its next home.

But Art Sherman and his family have not forgotten him.

'I think that's what's really making him get into this,' his son Steve said. 'It does remind him a lot of the Swaps experience. It's not horse versus horse per se; it's just the whole idea around it. Like he says, there'll never be another horse like Swaps. At least this horse is giving him just as much enjoyment as Swaps did.'

In Kentucky, Sherman will host family from California, Oregon and Tennessee. He said he hoped to sneak away to visit Swaps's grave at Churchill Downs. Because of him, Sherman knows what it feels like to win the Derby.

'Any trainer that says the Derby doesn't mean anything is crazy,' he said. 'It's not an easy race to win. I think it's a prestigious race, and at least you know, Man, I won the Kentucky Derby. Then I'd be able to say that I've done it all.'

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