Trainer Art Sherman said on Saturday that he hates excuses -- which only added to things he had to hate on an eventful September afternoon.

At the top of the list, despite his what-me-worry demeanor, Sherman had to hate, loathe, and downright abhor the weak sixth-place finish by his Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome in Saturday's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby.

The Grade 2 mile-and-an-eighth test at Parx Racing attracted unprecedented attention when Sherman announced his horse would make his first start since the Belmont Stakes at the small Bensalem, Pennsylvania, track. It was supposed to bring the colt one step closer to the 3-year-old championship or Horse of the Year laurels, but it only gave wind to a litany of excuses -- some of them valid.

In general, the Pennsylvania Derby turned out to be one big excuse for everyone but the winner, Bayern, who once again proved how awesome he can be when left by his lonesome on the front end in a nine-furlong route.

In a race that unfolded similarly to his 7 ¼-length score in the Haskell, Bayern skipped out to a clear lead through slow fractions on a day when Parx's main track was incredibly kind to early speed. Though he was sent off as the 7-2 second choice, if the race could have been stopped when he held a half-length lead over 27-1 shot CJ's Awesome after a half-mile in a dawdling 47.89 seconds and wagering re-opened, Bayern would have been knocked down to a 1-10 favored.

Unlike the mile-and-a-quarter Travers, when Bayern was finished before the quarter pole and faded to last, the Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-old gave no one a chance in the Pennsylvania Derby as he pulled away to a 5 ¾ length win.

Given how the race played out, it's simple to excuse horses like Tapiture and Candy Boy, who tried to rally against the deck that was stacked against them but had to settle for second and third, respectively.

California Chrome had an excuse, too, though it was much more flimsy and tarnishing than the seemingly compelling ones offered after the race by Sherman and jockey Victor Espinoza.

"You know you hate making excuses," Sherman said, "but I thought if he could have gone after [Bayern] a little bit earlier and got out from behind. But the other horse kept him down on the rail which I really didn't want. He is a lot more comfortable if you can ease him out it didn't happen and he hasn't run in a long time. He probably needed the race."

“

You know you hate making excuses, but I thought if he could have gone after [Bayern] a little bit earlier and got out from behind.

” -- Art Sherman, trainer California Chrome

Sherman added the race was a perfect stepping stone for the Derby winner's next start, the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov.1 at Santa Anita and a possible showdown with his main rival for the 3-year-old title, the undefeated Shared Belief.

"Race under his belt," Sherman said. "He'll be a lot stronger and we'll train him over at Los Alamitos. We'll bring him home and get him ready for the Breeders' Cup."

Espinoza also lamented being stuck on the inside right behind Bayern as CJ's Awesome raced outside of him.

"The other riders," he said, "they worried about me, they didn't worry about the one in front [Bayern], and I knew I was in trouble on the first turn. They were like blocking in front of me, and it was hard to catch the other horse. Sometimes the other ones don't ride to win, they ride to beat horses. But, I really didn't abuse him too much today. I just let him run his race. I didn't want to override him. He had a long time off. This race, it set it up for the next one."

Logical excuses all. Except for one not so small point. We're talking here about a horse that came within two lengths of joining Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Citation in the ranks of Triple Crown winners in the last half-century or so.

As understandable as it may be that California Chrome, off a 15-week layoff, was not sharp enough to beat Bayern on a souped-up Parx surface, he should have been more competitive based on his class alone. Yet instead of running like a potential champion and figuring in the photo for second, he backed up like one would expect under normal conditions from a California-bred with a modest pedigree tackling Grade 1 company.

He should move forward off Saturday's race, but is the next stop the winner's circle at the Breeders' Cup? That's asking a lot of a horse who, like 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb, may not be as fast or formidable in the fall as he was in the spring.

Sherman may voice confidence, but he also said before the Pennsylvania Derby that California Chrome would turn in a "big race" and we all know how that turned out.

As for Espinoza, being unable to move outside Bayern and challenge for the lead is a legitimate excuse -- if California Chrome had finished a respectable second or third. The way California Chrome backpedaled after coasting through slow fractions makes it laughable to think he could have battled Bayern on the front end, dueled him into submission and cruised to victory.

And if racing along the inside bothered California Chrome, one would like to think a champion does not need everything to go his way to win -- or be competitive.

Clearly, as owners Steve Coburn and Perry Martin and Sherman head back to California with a combined $200,000 in appearance fees after what seems to be an ill-advised trip east, they have some excuses to hang Coburn's cowboy hat on.

How valid are they?

At this moment, pretty weak, but check back after the Breeders' Cup for the definitive answer.