Anne Marie Duff

THE star performer of the US racing weekend is California Chrome who returns to the track at his home venue in Los Alamitos this evening to prepare for the $12 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream at the end of January.

A field of 10 line up for the Winter Challenge which was specifically set up for California Chrome to use as a prep for the January 28th race.

California Chrome will be the overwhelming favourite at the track where he has done the majority of his training. He drew the outside post 10, with regular jockey Victor Espinoza scheduled to ride.

There is only one other graded stakes winner, Point Piperin the field. Owned by a partnership that includes Gatto Racing trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, the six-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway won the Grade 3 Longacres Mile Handicap at Emerald Downs and has been graded race placed since.

Other stakes winners in the field are Papacoolpapacool and Avanti Bello.

Papacoolpapacool, a multiple stakes winner on grass in 2015, has not won in his last 10 starts. Avanti Bello, a four-year-old colt trained by Doug O’Neill, earned his stakes-winning credential in May in the Tiznow for California-breds at Santa Anita. He recently won an allowance race at Santa Anita in October.

Six others in the field are allowance winners and Wrightwood is a maiden winner.