They both came into the weekend with high hopes from their owners, trainers, and a betting public that fell in love over the past few weeks. The stage was set. The television cameras and their glory waited in the wings hoping to cash that money shot that sometimes fall over a cliff leaving viewers disappointed. There weren't any disappointment if you backed The Chrome and the showy female with all the flair of a superstar in waiting. Untapable was the first to come onto the stage. She gave us her best Zenyatta's impersonation when heading over to be saddled from the backstretch. She pranced on her toes, dancing as if listening to music that only she could hear. Her jockey, Rosie Napravnik also bought into her confidence. She climbed aboard the lady who was about to become a monster, and enjoyed the victory march to glory before the starters opened the gate. Another filly in the race got scared and flipped out at the thought of running against Untapable. She wanted out of the race and and sat down in the gate. She was scratched and hastily went back to the barn, relieved that she was out of this mashup that was about to take place. The minor disturbance at the gate couldn't stop the show from ending the way it was supposed to. Untapable settled in a comfortable spot, and when they swung for home, the jockey shook the reins, took out her pistol and fired a few times, and that was that. The race was over and she had done her part.
California Chrome didn't look as intimidating as Untapable. He came onto the track with snickering from many who thought he was ripe for the picking. I thought he was ripe for the picking! The Art Sherman Disney movie of the week story that was being told for the last few weeks didn't have everyone's attention. The nineteen horses lined up for the Kentucky Derby, and unlike the Oaks when a horse got scared and wanted out, all the boys wanted to fight. They saw The Chrome and didn't think he was the real deal. When the starter unleashed them, California Chrome put all questions to rest. He burst out of the gate on his toes and was amongst the first flight of horses going into the first turn. The pace was slow. The leaders who had showed up for the first half of the fight started to lose their will to battle. They were gone and when they swung for home, Victor Espinoza gave The Chrome his head, and he sprinted to the finish line with much left in the tank. Espinoza looked back, stood up in his saddle, and raised his victorious right arm to the crowd. The doubters, including myself marveled. He sparkled and the Sherman story that was written by some young writer in Hollywood, landed on a producer's desk.
Now that the two premier races are over, the question being asked is whether or not these two giants would meet. Unlike in past years when the Oaks winner, Rachel Alexandra excluded, didn't generate any question about boy versus girl, this year's winner is different. She is fast, big, and without fear. She wants to compete and her dismantling of her competitors invite a discussion. After the running of the Oaks, her trainer Steve Asmussen said he wouldn't want Untapable and Tapiture to meet in the Preakness. He didn't really believe that? Did he? Tapiture is a talented horse, but I got off the joy ride after the Arkansas Derby. He wasn't going to get the job done at a mile and a quarter.
Untapable is a fast horse. She has been running consistently fast all winter and spring. She received another high beyer figure after the Oaks. The beyer figure is a number assigned to horses after they compete in a race. The higher the beyer, the better. This means the horse has ran a very fast race. She has better numbers than the boys, and she has done it easily. I went back and looked at her last three races and she was geared down while the others were still chomping and dashing down the stretch. She is simply a monster! Untapable is a monster horse who has found her way into her skin. She has figured out the racing game. Like Zenyatta who would come over to the track dancing and showing that she is aware, Untapable is starting to display that same type of flair, a horse that knows what time it is! There is nothing more exciting for a race fan than when he or she believes a horse has figured out what the heck is going on, when a horse knows it's race day. The real good ones with a mind of gold just need the saddle and someone to steer them in the right direction. Untapable is a special one. Throw out the gender and line her up next to the boys. She measures up easily.
The sports of horse racing is alive a few times a year. All the red carpet glitz and glamor died on Sunday morning when the jets took off from the Bluegrass state and headed to never never land. Horse racing needs the Untapable and Chrome showdown. Imagine the sell and hype for the next two weeks. The California horse with the story that only lives in heads of dreamers. The female who is trying to pickup the mantle once owned by Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.
The Preakness without Untapable is going to be a walkover. I know Commanding Curve was coming and coming fast and hard, but the distance of the Preakness won't help him. He needs more distance, not a race shorter than the derby distance. The Belmont Stakes is where he will curve around big Sandy and do some damage. The new shooters are nice horses. Social Inclusion if he goes will be a huge question mark after being scratched from his last race with some foot issues. Kid Cruz? Come on! Bayern? I rest my case. The race needs someone who will challenge the story of California Chrome. Untapable is the needed antagonist. She is the villain with the best chance to rewrite a fairytale. I know the Winchell's and Steve Asmussen said they aren't coming back in two weeks, and without the filly, The Chrome will dance to the third leg of the triple crown without much interference.
I know there are those who believe that you can ruin a good horse by doing too much too soon. There are those who believe that Rachel Alexandra wasn't the same horse after her Preakness win. I don't buy into that argument. Horses are horses and if they are champions they can compete on levels that will blow our minds away. Untapable could be that special. She has potential, and we need to see that potential put to the test. I don't know what happened to Untpatable when she ventured to California. Her two races there were not what champions would write, but she has rewritten her story and now the storyline is back on track. This race needs to take place. Give us something to get excited about for the next two weeks. Allow race fans from all over the globe to come back for two more weeks and enjoy the script being written. Let the jets fuel up once more and turn Baltimore into a landing strip. Give us what we want and what the sports need.
Untapable versus California Chrome. Who's The Winner?
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