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No Triple Crown for the beautiful brown, laid back horse from southern California, California Chrome. And excuse me, but yes, it blows and I feel robbed! I agree with the words of one of the owners, Steve Coburn, they rest the horses, run them in one (or none) and then bring them back for the Belmont to “upset the apple cart”! He is right, if you are going to compete in the big three, run all three or STAY HOME! Otherwise, this is going to happen every time, just as it has for thirty six years. We will likely never see a Triple Crown winner, certainly not in my lifetime. And again, that just blows. I so wanted to see Chrome get it done. Alas, it did not happen, not even Wicked Strong could out run him however, as those two finished in a dead heat for fourth and fifth place. Instead, in this longest of the Triple Crown races (a mile and a half), it was Tonalist winning, Commissioner in second, and Medal Count in third. A nice word about Medal Count, run by a USC grad (that would be the University of Southern California) and named in honor of USC’s lead in athletic prowess…most overall titles of any other school. Still, what a disappointment for those of us so hopeful, so wishful, so wanting that thrill of seeing a Triple Crown winner right before our eyes. And no better horse to get it done with than California Chrome, owned by two working class guys who spent their savings and retirement to invest all of about $10,000. to make their dream come true. It didn’t happen but it was glorious while it lasted and I am sad it did not happen at Belmont today!
Meanwhile, in Paris, Maria Sharapova won her second French Open title in three years, three sets over S. Halep of Romania, 6-4, 6-7. 6-4. Really gutsy performance by the twenty two year old Halep. I was pulling for her (since I do not ever pull for Sharapova). Halep rose to the occasion, her first Grand Slam final and it was a match that lasted over three hours and was high quality. Halep did much better than she did against Serena Williams in the final in Rome on clay. Still, it was Maria hoisting the trophy and she has now won twenty clay court matches in a row. Quite an accomplishment for someone who once described themselves as looking like a “cow on ice” when playing on clay!
Tomorrow, the men’s final…Nadal vs. Djokovic. No surprise here..but will there be a “surprise” winner? I am pulling for Nole to win and get his career Slam. Nadal will be going for his ninth French Open title. I would really like to see Djokovic win, but to be really honest, I do not want Nadal to get #14 as that puts him within three of Mr. Federer’s Grand Slam total of 17. We all know how I feel about Roger! Speaking of Roger…he will be in action on the grass next week in Germany (Halle) as will Nadal. If Djokovic wins, I believe he will overtake Nadal for the #1 world ranking on Monday. Not sure about Fed, hope he stays at least at #4, especially with Wimbledon looming on the horizon. Speaking of rankings, S. Halep will move up from #4 to #3 in the women’s world rankings on Monday.
I am not really a huge hockey fan, but game two of the Stanley Cup finals is getting underway after the horse race. The East vs. the West, New York vs. Los Angeles. The Rangers vs. the Kings, with LA leading 1-0. Guess who I am pulling for? (LA of course!)
Later!
