Pharoah bows out with pomp, romp
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hail and farewell, American Pharoah.
Thoroughbred racing’s first Triple Crown champion in 37 years won the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by 61/2 lengths Saturday, taking charge out of the gate in his final race before retirement.
The 3-year-old colt ran 11/4 miles in a track-record 2:00.07 as the sentimental 3-5 favorite among the crowd of 50,155 at Keeneland. Fans stood 20-deep all along the rail, cheering and snapping cellphone photos of the superstar horse and jockey Victor Espinoza.
Except American Pharoah didn’t hear them. He wears ear plugs to muffle any
sounds that might startle him.
“This was for Pharoah,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “We wanted him to go out the champion he is.”
American Pharoah, who won the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs to begin his 2015 season, took on seven rivals after Smooth Roller and champion mare Beholder dropped out. Beholder had the speed and the class to potentially make the race a contest, but a lung ailment sidelined her Thursday.
It might not have mattered how many challenged American Pharoah on a cloudy, cool day in the cradle of American horse country.
“The winner is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen,” said noted Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, who had Gleneagles in the race.
It was a feel-good moment for a sport that has been battered and bruised, with all the troubles of declining attendance and drug controversies taking a back seat for a tick over two minutes.
“It’s a horse racing fairy tale, and I just happen to be in it,” Baffert said.
American Pharoah was moving easily under Espinoza, keeping long shot Effinex a length back in second for the first half-mile. Effinex was never a threat, though, and American Pharoah extended his lead to 3 ½ lengths turning for home.
“I was trying to open it up as much as I can,” Espinoza said. “I saw the wire maybe 20 yards [away], and for me it was not coming fast enough because I want to cross that wire and get it over with.”
After easing across the finish line, Espinoza took the colt far up the first turn before slowly walking past the grandstand to the winner’s circle, accompanied by raucous cheers all the way. The champion even had his own military escort walk him back to his barn.
Fans knew they had just witnessed the final chapter in a story that may never be repeated.
American Pharoah put an exclamation point on a career in which he lost twice — in his debut last year at Del Mar and again in the Travers on
Aug. 29.
He paid $3.40, $3 and $2.40 in the Classic. The win, place and show pool wagered on the race was $8,269,736.
Effinex, a 33-1 shot, returned $14.20 and $6.60. Honor Code was another 4 ½ lengths back in third and paid $3.40 to show.
Keen Ice, who beat American Pharoah at Saratoga, finished fourth. Tonalist, the 2014 Belmont winner, was fifth, followed by Hard Aces, Frosted and Ireland-bred Gleneagles.
Frosted unexpectedly pressed American Pharoah on the lead in the Travers, leaving him vulnerable to the rally by Keen Ice.
This time, no one could keep up with the champ.
“It’s a lot of pressure to train a horse like this because I didn’t want to let the horse down and I didn’t want to let the fans down,” Baffert said. “I’m just so proud of him. It’s like watching my child out there.”
American Pharoah won 9 of his 11 career starts, including the first sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 37 years this spring. He earned a total of $8,650,300 for Ahmed Zayat, the Egyptian-born owner who chose to keep his popular horse in training so fans could see him run.
“We wanted him to go out as a winner,” Zayat said. “He is a winner.”
American Pharoah ensured his place in racing by ending the Triple Crown drought. He won the Derby by a length and then easily handled a sloppy track in the Preakness to win by 7 lengths. In the Belmont, he led all the way en route to a dominating 5 ½-length victory.
A victory in the Haskell Invitational was next in early August in Zayat’s home state of New Jersey, then American Pharoah took his show to upstate New York to run in the Travers. His loss by three-quarters of a length raised the question of whether he had peaked, and an emotional Zayat considered retiring him.
But the colt went back to his Southern California base with Baffert and regrouped. He showed he was regaining his old form in training, in between entertaining visitors from children to Julia Roberts alike at his Santa Anita barn.
In a sport rife with jealousy, Baffert earned kudos from his rival trainers for how he handled the horse. Fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas popped into the postrace news conference to congratulate Baffert.
“I knew he’d break their heart at the half-mile pole, and he did it,” Lukas said. “You had him ready. On behalf of every trainer who gets up and tries to make a living, I want to congratulate you.”
American Pharoah was a remarkable blend of exceptional talent and a winning personality. Unlike most high-strung, unpredictable thoroughbreds, he was friendly and patient with fans who wanted to pet and pose with him.