Taylor Reflective on Pegasus Week

Duncan Taylor, CEO and president of Taylor Made Sales, has spent much of his life honing in on the sales sector of the Thoroughbred industry, striving to raise his family business to the top. But when Taylor Made was able to acquire a share of champion California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) in July 2015, Taylor was granted the unique opportunity to compete 'Chrome', the racehorse, at the highest level of the game while simultaneously building his resume as an in-house stallion prospect. That duality becomes a bit more real for Taylor this week, as newly crowned 2016 Horse of the Year and all-time leading North American earnings leader California Chrome will compete in Gulfstream Park's $12-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Saturday before shipping to Kentucky to begin his next career Sunday.

“It's been a very good situation with California Chrome,” Taylor said. “We got him so early that we've been able to think about his pedigree and look at what mares we think will cross well, and we've been able to buy some of those mares. We've been able to bring some very good breeders along that joined in and are able to have a lot of fun…It's really been a great experience, one that I've shared with my brothers. My whole life, I've been thinking about how to sell quality horses better and try to be the leader at the sales, but never once did I ever set a goal to have a Horse of the Year. So this is a blessing.”

When asked about his mindset in the days leading up to the Pegasus, Taylor confirmed that he is understandably anxious to see California Chrome compete, acknowledging the challenge posed by a more-than-worthy opponent in GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Arrogate (Unbridled's Song).

“I am feeling nervous,” Taylor admitted. “We're getting ready to face Arrogate and all these other horses. Any horse can jump up and run a great race. We don't know what Eragon (Arg) (Offlee Wild) is, Noble Bird (Birdstone) has a lot of speed and he can get loose on the front end, and then Arrogate–nobody knows just how good this horse is. The other night, when we won the Eclipse Award, it may go down as one of our greatest accomplishments winning Horse of the Year because we know how great he is. He's going to be a very tough foe. Juddmonte is at the top of the game, they know what they're doing; and then you have Bob Baffert, and you can't do any better than that.”

Win or lose, California Chrome will travel to Kentucky Sunday to begin settling in at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville. Taylor noted that the close proximity of the chestnut's final race to his first day as a stallion creates a demanding, but manageable, task for the Taylor Made Stallions team.

“It's going to be a challenge after the race,” Taylor said. “Gilberto Terrazas and his crew, and my brother Ben and Travis [White] will give him a day or two off when he comes back, but then we'll test breed him–probably two or four times–before we collect the semen and analyze that. We're hoping to be ready for the opening of the breeding shed around Feb. 14.”

As far as California Chrome's commercial appeal, Taylor stressed that there isn't necessarily an automatic connection between breeders' recognition of his accomplishments on the racetrack and his potential as a stallion prospect.

“As a superstar, he takes care of himself, but people understanding his pedigree is something we've been working on,” Taylor explained. “We want people to look, for lack of a better analogy, under the hood to see what's under there. He's line-bred to Numbered Account, who was Ogden Phipps' best female, and [the Phipps Family] is known as the best breeder in America. So the breeding is good, but he doesn't have the brand name with Lucky Pulpit. If he had Pulpit there, it would be a totally different story.”

Contemplating California Chrome's impact on a broader scale, Taylor said he believes that the horse's presence at Taylor Made will bolster public interest in the one-year-old Horse Country Tours network, and by association, strengthen interest in the sport as a whole in Kentucky. Horse Country has already attracted great interest in 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile)'s presence at Ashford Stud, and Taylor believes his farm will see a similar response coinciding with the introduction of fan favorite 'Chrome'.

“We can't thank the media and the fans of Chrome enough,” said Taylor. “A lot of people say, 'Does that bother you?' No, we love having fans interested in the horse and wanting to come see him. We're all about letting them have that thrill.”

With first-hand experience meeting California Chrome's supporters, Taylor also said that the emphasis on the horseplayer at Saturday's Eclipse Awards resonated with him as something that needs to be prioritized by the industry as a whole.

“It's sad to me that we have the best handicapper up there getting an award, and he's almost apologizing for what he's doing,” Taylor observed. “We need to change that and we need to put the people betting on the horses at the forefront of the sport. The NTRA is doing a good job with their handicapping tournaments, but I'm trying to encourage them to have a handicapping tournament end at the Kentucky Derby. And we ought to be able to calculate who won right then, and the handicapper can go out to the winner's circle and get a $1-million check. That way, when we have this huge audience watching, it gets people to start wondering and thinking, 'How do I learn to do it? How can I do that?'”

In an ideal situation, Taylor added that the industry can take further steps to provide handicapping resources and tutorials for the general public. Such a strategy would likely coincide with growing Thoroughbred racing as a self-sustaining entity apart from casinos and external purse supplements.

'Bittersweet' Week for Sherman

Alan Sherman, assistant trainer to his father, Art Sherman, said that California Chrome's departure following the Pegasus will undoubtedly leave a void in the shedrow. Nevertheless, the horseman recognized that his stable star is well-supported in his future career at stud.

“He's definitely going to be missed in the barn,” Sherman asserted. “We've spent a long time with that horse now, and he's been really good to us. I'm glad he's going on to his job as a stallion. I think he's going to be a good stallion, and he's got some really nice mares to breed to. It's bittersweet, but he deserves to go out and get those mares now.”

According to Sherman, California Chrome will gallop up to Saturday's race, and possibly school in the Gulfstream paddock during his Wednesday morning training session.

“It's just been a privilege and an honor to train a horse like this,” Sherman concluded. “I thank everyone in California Chrome LLC for having him one more year. It's been great.”