having him start. Trapped on the rail, first by a speed horse in the initial stages of the race, and again on the far turn by a challenger who faded in the stretch, California Chrome was unable to gain momentum and finished sixth. Bayern had a clean trip, leading wire to wire, and won by lengths. Espinoza explained, "I never really had a chance to let him run the way he had been running." The next race was the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 1. Because many leading older horses retired in 2014, most of the main contenders for the 2014 Classic were the three year olds: in addition to California Chrome, former foes Bayern, Candy Boy and Tonalist entered. His chief rival was considered to be the then-undefeated American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Shared Belief, a gelding who missed the Triple Crown series due to hoof problems; the two had never faced each other. California Chrome was 4-1 on the morning line, second favorite to Shared Belief. In the race, Bayern bumped into Shared Belief at the start, then took the lead for the duration of the race. California Chrome was clear of traffic, maintained third place for most of the race, was closing at the end, and finished a very close third, only a neck behind winner Bayern, who won by a nose over second-place finisher Toast of New York. Shared Belief was fourth. Post race analysis noted that California Chrome stayed on the outside throughout the race, and actually ran 44 feet farther than the winner. Sherman spoke in positive terms of the horse's finish, stating, "My horse ran his eyeballs out. He was right there, right down to the money. I thought it was a great effort. He came back strong." Espinoza was less enthusiastic: "On the backstretch I thought I had a chance to win... The last sixteenth [California Chrome] was digging as hard as he could, but getting just a little tired. I wish he had one more race. It was a little too much for him today." Coburn visited the colt the following day and stated, "He was full of himself. I think he thought he won. And if the race had been just a little bit longer, I believe he would have." Later in the month California Chrome shipped to Del Mar, and following workouts on the turf course Sherman entered him in