National Post

American Pharoah rallies to take Kentucky Derby

- By Beth Harr is

• Lured by carrots, American Pharoah was led out of the barn to face a throng of cameras.

Reluctant at first, the Kentucky Derby winner perked up when trainer Bob Baffert offered the colt’s favourite snack. American Pharoah pricked his ears upon hearing the click of cameras and struck a regal pose. “The good ones,” Baffert said Sunday, “they love the clicks.”

And the white-haired trainer has got himself a good one.

“He’s just so good and so special,” a clearly biased Baffert said. “He was born with that talent.”

Now he and his fourth Derby winner are likely headed to Baltimore for the Preakness in two weeks, the next stop on the Triple Crown trail. Baffert has won that race five times.

Third-place finisher Dortmund, who led much of the way, is likely to run in the 1 and 3/16-mile race on May 16, too.

“The way he was travelling down the backside, I thought maybe he was going to win it,” Baffert said.

He will decide Dortmund’s next race for sure after talking with owner Kaleem Shah.

“I’m sure he’s going to want a little revenge,” Baffert said. “His horse ran a really good race.”

The trainer has no mixed emotions about possibly running American Pharoah, owned by Ahmed Zayat, and Dortmund against each other.

“My job is to get my people there if the horse is doing well,” Baffert said. “They understand that sometimes I’ll beat them with another horse. If Dortmund turns the table on him, so be it.”

A record crowd of 170,513 packed Churchill Downs under sunny skies and temperatur­es in the mid-70s Saturday. American Pharoah rallied to win by a length.

American Pharoah came into the Derby having run just five races, which could make him fresher than some of his rivals if he ends up running in all three Triple Crown races.

“With more racing, he’s getting smarter,” Baffert said. “He has that long stride, he’s quick, he’s got a really good mind and he just floats over the ground.”

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