American Pharoah Triumphant

I'll write about the other fantastic races of the Breeders Cup later today, or tomorrow, but today I'm going to sing the praises of American Pharoah.  The three-year-old bay colt is moving from the racing barn at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington today to Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky.  He will no longer be a race horse; he will be a sire.  He'll be galloped and exercised, but not honed to perfection for specific race dates.  Hopefully, he will prove as successful at stud as he was on the race course.
   American Pharoah was born on 2 February 2012.  Ahmed Zayat owned and raced both of his parents - Pioneer of the Nile, a dark bay stallion, born in 2006, and Littleprincessemma, a chestnut mare also born in 2006.  He is a bay horse with a very faint, tiny star on his forehead whorl - and that star might just be my imagination from his close-up photos; it just might be the skin visible through his whorl.   Otherwise, the colt is without any markings - except, of course, his racing tattoo.
  Bob Baffert asked to be his trainer, and was given into his care. American Pharoah was named through an on-line contest.  Justin Zayat loved the name, and sent it in to the Jockey Club.  It was accepted, but Justin was not aware that the word Pharoah was misspelled - which causes my spell-check program a lot of grief.  The colt's debut race was not something to be remembered - he was wearing blinkers, he acted up, and he finished fifth.  But Bob Baffert saw something in the way he ran.
   His next race entry was a Grade 1; his blinkers were off, and the tale of success began.  He was the early favorite to win the Breeders Cup Juvenile in 2014, but a bruised foot kept him out of training and he missed the race.  He was still named Two Year Old Colt of the year.
  He was undefeated as a three-year-old heading into the Kentucky Derby, where he was the betting favorite.  He won the Derby; he won the Preakness; and then he won the Belmont Stakes, too.  America had the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.  I remember seeing Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed win the Triple Crown, but I don't think I was as excited with any of their wins as I was with American Pharoah's.   Maybe it was because there was such a long drought between Triple Crown Champions; maybe it was because there had been discussion of changing the Triple Crown races and racing dates; maybe it was because Mom had brought me up on tales of Man o'War, and visiting him in Berlin, Maryland; maybe because it was a family-owned and celebrated horse - I don't know.  All I know was I felt excited and electrified when the plain bay colt won the Triple Crown.
   It was announced that he would be retired at the end of his three-year-old racing season to stand at stud.  That was quite acceptable in my eyes.  And I was delighted to hear that Ahmed Zayat and his family had decided to race American Pharoah a few more times for the American (and horse racing) public.  I was ecstatic when the Pharoah won the Haskell Invitational.  I was devastated when he finished second in the Travers Stakes, having been worn down by Frosted in a speed duel, and then bested by Keen Ice.  There are all kinds of excuses for that race - the colt was tired from the Triple Crown campaign; he'd galloped much faster than planned the day before the race in front of a racing crowd in the afternoon; the speed duel with Frosted....  It just wasn't a day that American Pharoah would win.  It was horse racing.
   Then there was all the hyperbole of the press for the Breeders Cup Classic race.  Could the colt do it?  Could he win the Triple Crown and the Breeders Cup Classic?  Did he have the guts - after all, he'd lost the last time out?  Could he beat Beholder, even though he had a one pound allowance?  Could he beat Honor Code?  Since Frosted and Keen Ice were also entered, would they try to tag-team him, as they did in the Travers?  And what about Gleneagles? He was shipping in from Ireland, a Classic-winner against older horses in Europe.  Then there were the hard-pounding Tonalist, Hard Aces and Effinex also in the mix.
   Bob Battaglia made American Pharoah the odds-on betting choice for the race.  He stayed the betting favorite until the betting windows closed.  American Pharoah led the race from the first jump out of the starting gate until the finish line, one and one-quarter miles later.  The plain bay colt went out a winner, and in grand style.  He raced eleven times, won nine of his starts, finished second once, and was fifth in his first race ever.  It doesn't quite equal Man o'War's 20 starts with 19 wins and 1 second, but in this day and age, it's one heck of a record.
   I salute you, American Pharoah!  And now we have to wait three years to see what your two-year-old sons and daughters will do on the track....

Belmont Stakes Post Positions and Odds

The last winner of the American Triple Crown was  Florida-bred chestnut colt named Affirmed in 1978 - and he had the youngest Triple Crown winning jockey in the stirrups - Steve Cauthen. In the past 36 years, 12 horses besides California Chrome have won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but no other has also won the Belmont Stakes.  I remember being amazed when Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973; I thought Seattle Slew was awesome in his win; and then (living in Florida, at the time) I was ecstatic about Affirmed.
   Saturday will be a huge test for California Chrome - he will try to become the 12th horse in history to win the American Triple Crown.  He and ten other colts will carry 126 pounds only once around the huge one-and-a-half mile track at Belmont Park.  It will be a test for Victor Espinoza, Chrome's jockey, as well.  I don't believe that Victor has ridden at Belmont before; and at most tracks, as one enters the final turn, there is about one-quarter mile left in the race - at Belmont, there is a half mile left.  A lot of jockeys without experience in the Belmont, and/or on the Belmont track, have lost the race due to misjudging the distance.  I hope this will not happen on Saturday.  Even though California Chrome is the odds-on betting favorite, at 3 to 5, I'd love to see another Triple Crown winner.
  Following are the post position numbers, the horse's name, the jockey's name, and the morning odds:
1.    Medal Count,    Robby Albarado     20 to 1
2.    California Chrome,   Victor Espinoza     3 to 5
3.    Matterhorn,     Joe Bravo     30 to 1
4.    Commanding Curve,    Shaun Bridgmohan     15 to 1
5.    Ride On Curlin,    John Velazquez     12 to 1
6.    Matuszak,    Mike Smith     30 to 1
7.    Samraat,    Jose Ortiz    20 to 1
8.    Commissioner,    Javier Castellano     20 to 1
9.    Wicked Strong,    Rajiv Maragh     6 to 1
10.  General a Rod,    Rosie Napravnik     20 to 1
11.  Tonalist,    Joel Rosario     8 to 1

More about the horses later.....