Among the highest earning California-breds of the 2010s, he worked his way up the ranks to be called a champion.

He no doubt benefited from the riding prowess of Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith and the knowledge of veteran conditioner Bill Spawr, who also co-owned him along with Thomas C. Sanford. But this horse was as tough as he was talented. Just watch some of his stretch runs, and you will see the fight he had within him.

Though able to run on different surfaces, his calling card was sprinting. As time went on, he became a stronger runner. And like Native Diver before him, he spent the bulk of his career in California. But he experienced his greatest victory of all in Kentucky, and that put him in a category occupied by only a few horses from the Golden State.

The career of Amazombie can be divided up into three phases. The first one unfolded over his initial five starts. The promise was evident early, as this offspring of Northern Afleet by the In Excess dam Wilshe Amaze picked up minor awards between visits to Del Mar and Santa Anita's turf courses during the summer and fall of 2009. The fourth outing foreshadowed what was to come, for Amazombie tried sprinting for the first time while racing over Santa Anita's hillside turf. The result was a second, but it signaled a transition for the colt. From that time on, routing was a thing of the past.

Closing out his rookie season at Hollywood Park, Amazombie got the job done over the track's synthetic surface. A maiden no more, he prepared for phase two of what would become a distinguished career.

Save for finishing sixth in his three-year-old debut at Santa Anita in January 2010 (though he did not lose by much), Amazombie went on to have a productive season. In nine starts, he won four races (a disqualification from first to last for interference at Del Mar prevented it from being five), finished second once and garnered a third while competing largely on turf between Southern California's big three racetracks. He spent the entire campaign in the allowance and allowance optional claiming ranks, but he added some significant victories during that time.

For example, he prevailed over turf for the first time on March 28 after beating rivals on Santa Anita's hillside turf course (and by this time, he was a gelding). After teaming with Mike Smith on debut, Amazombie got Big Money Mike back in the saddle for that race after Joe Talamo was at the helm for a few starts. From that point forward, Smith would be aboard the gelding for all but two of his starts, which meant a potent horse and jockey combination had been formed.

In the follow up to that March 28 effort, Amazombie defeated open company at Hollywood Park on July 10 after handling Cal-breds in all of his previous victories. That same race saw Amazombie capture his first win while in early contention. Before then, he came from off the pace, so he proved he could win with different running styles.

The 2010 season certainly eclipsed all that Amazombie had produced in his freshman year, and those races served as building blocks for what would be the third and most exciting part of Amazombie's time at the races.

After spending year one in the maiden ranks, and year two against allowance and allowance optional claiming foes, year three saw Amazombie step up to stakes company. His 2011 opener came in the Sunshine Millions Sprint on Santa Anita's main oval. With a blazing pace happening ahead of him, Amazombie showed that familiar grit in the stretch to seize the photo finish for his most significant win to date. But so much more was in store for the gelding and his group that year.

Following the Sunshine Millions Sprint, Amazombie would never exit the stakes ranks for the remainder of his career. And the 2011 season saw him become a model of consistency. Not once in nine starts did Amazombie finish outside the top three, and he would add five more wins to his overall count (another disqualification, this time in the Grade III Los Angeles Handicap at Hollywood Park, kept it from being six). What's more, he continued to attain milestones. The Grade II Potrero Grande Stakes marked his first graded stakes triumph, while the Tiznow Stakes at Hollywood Park saw him become victorious while leading at every point of call for the first time. And then came the Ancient Title Stakes during Santa Anita's autumn meet. After coming from off the pace and defeating a group that included noted sprinter The Factor, Amazombie turned into a Grade I winner in his twenty-third start. The occasion was fitting, as a talented Cal-bred sprinter took a race named for a legendary Cal-bred sprinter.

At the time, it stood as his proudest moment. But less than a month later, it would take a back seat to another Grade I.

For all that Amazombie had experienced in three seasons of action, he had yet to try a racetrack outside of California. But after winning the Ancient Title, he was given the opportunity. That victory set him on course for the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs. One of the middle-priced horses at 7-1, Amazombie saw a familiar sight in a completely different surrounding after the Sprint began. Staying off the pace, he chased a very fast pace set by the frontrunners. Closing tactics were not a problem for Amazombie, and he charged to the front as the Sprint progressed, getting perfect aim on the leader in the stretch. That trademark toughness was on display, and the stretch run that Amazombie had relished was as well.

Taking over the lead late, Amazombie became the fifth Cal-bred to take victory in a Breeders' Cup race, and that moment assured him of the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter of 2011. He would also be named Champion Cal-bred Sprinter by the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association for his sterling season. After takinng some time to make that first visit to the winner's circle, Amazombie had made sure he would go down in racing history as one of the most prolific Cal-breds of the decade. And his work serves as a reminder that the beginning of a career does not necessarily define a career.

Amazombie raced five times in 2012, adding more graded stakes to his resume. The brown horse became only the second horse to take back-to-back editions of the Potrero Grande (now known as the Kona Gold Stakes in honor of the first horse to win the race twice), and left Del Mar with a win in the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes. His last two races, the Grade I Santa Anita Sprint Championship (formerly known as the Ancient Title) and the Breeders' Cup Sprint, did not result in a successful title defense either time, but Amazombie had nothing left to prove. After twenty-nine starts, he had been third or better twenty-three times, with twelve of those being wins. And one more title awaited the gelding, for the CTBA again named Champion Cal-bred Sprinter. As of 2023, Amazombie is one of only five Cal-breds to win that honor twice.

After a fantastic career, Amazombie lived to the age of seventeen. Residing at Old Friends Farm in Kentucky, he passed in September 2023 after being euthanized due to injury. But he shall live on thanks to footage of his races and the spots in racing history he earned with his gift for sprinting and his gumption.

Though he did not captivate the public like California Chrome did, Amazombie was truly brilliant on track. He was the type of racehorse anyone would want to own. With an affinity for different surfaces, a willingness to battle on track, the ability to be consistent, and equipped with different running styles, Amazombie proved he was a quality Thoroughbred.

And all of those tools were instrumental in making him one of the best Cal-breds of his era.