Phar’ game
Crown winner already stealing show for Haskell
Bob Kulina received an important text message last November. It was from Bob Baffert, the trainer of a record seven Haskell Invitational winners.
Kulina, the president of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth Park, had been talking to Baffert about what to do next with last year’s Haskell winner, Bayern, when he got a glimpse at the future.
“Bob gave me this horse on November 17th of last year,” Kulina said. “He said, ‘Here’s next year’s Haskell winner.’ That’s what the text was.”
Of course, this horse is much more than a potential Haskell winner. This horse is American Pharoah, the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, and he is ready to return to the races on Sunday in the $1.75 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. American Pharoah will break from the gate along with seven other 3-yearolds at 5:52 p.m. The race will be televised nationally on NBC.
Since his triumph at the Belmont Stakes on June 6 and t hroughout his Triple Crown campaign, this horse captured the imagination of the horse- racing world. His owner Ahmed Zayat sai d the struggling sport of thoroughbred racing in American needed stars, and he, along with Baffert, chose this race at this track at the Jersey Shore to show off the sport’s greatest star.
American Pharoah’s significance to fans young and old never was more evident than Friday morning at Monmouth Park. The track opened its doors to fans from 7-8 a.m. to watch the Triple Crown winner take a run over the racing oval.
Five-thousand fans lined up five-deep along the rail just to watch the world’s most famous race horse take one lap around the track. Some left their homes at 4:15 a.m. to drive nearly two hours to catch a glimpse. They made hats just for the occasion, and some brought paintings they made themselves to display as the Pharoah briefly galloped past.
It was a scene Kulina hoped for when he and Monmouth Park created the Pharoah Phan Phestival that includes events celebrating t he champion throughout the weekend.
“This is more about the fan,” Kulina said. “This is more about Joe Public, not the stud forms and all. They’re involved, but this is more about everybody who has ever seen a horse run in circles in New Jersey knows about this.”
But American Pharoah’s appeal expands beyond the state of New Jersey. Zayat Stables racing manager Justin Zayat wants his champion to inspire a new generation of racing fans. At 23 years old, Zayat, along with his father Ahmed, has utilized social media to interact with American Pharoah’s many fans.
“I’ll go meet people [ on Sunday]. I did that at the Belmont,” Zayat said. “I went out- side, and I was talking to people. It’s a lot of fun. That’s why I’m on Twitter, that’s why I’m on Facebook and all these things because I want people to feel included. I don’t want to be a guy that is untouchable. I want to be a guy that people will tweet at me and I’ll answer them. I want them to see the horse.”
The people certainly are taking advantage of the chance to see American Pharoah. After his Belmont victory, Pharoah paraded in front of big crowds at Churchill Downs and Santa Anita Park. Every time he arrived at a new track, big and enthusiastic crowds greeted him.
The fanfare is for good reason. A generation of racing fans never has seen a horse like American Pharoah. For years, the racing world asked what a Triple Crown winner would mean to the sport. That question is now being answered by a friendly horse with an amazing efficiency of motion that makes him nearly unbeatable on the track.
“People that are around racing from my generation say I saw Secretariat,” said Dennis Drazin, the official management consultant to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “I remember when I saw Affirmed. I remember the battles of the great horses of all time. I remember Seattle Slew, but the next generation is going to be saying, ‘I was there at Monmouth Park when American Pharoah ran in the Haskell, and I had a chance to be there.’ This is going to carry this on for the next generation.”
The enthusiasm may or may not l ast beyond American Pharoah’s farewell tour this year, but for one day at the Jersey Shore, it is all about this one horse who stands alone and shines brightest as the star of horse racing.