And when Victor Espinoza asked, the majestic colt delivered an encore performance in his first race since winning the Triple Crown.
The brilliant colt could no longer exceed expectations; he could only win or be labeled a disappointment.
“He came out of the race flawless”.
There’s a lot of pressure now with this horse. “He makes me emotional because he’s a gift from God, or something”.
American Pharoah’s camp was still basking in post-Haskell glory now that he has won eight straight graded stakes races, and seven Grade 1s, and pushed his earnings to $5.63 million. While American Pharoah missed the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with a minor injury, Texas Red won the race.
Pharoah had gotten a little stirred up in the paddock, Baffert said, but Espinoza said the horse handled everything like a pro, even as the crowd put up a wall of sound and the PA blared “Born to Run“.
Violette said there was discussion about offering a $2 million Travers purse to draw American Pharoah before the $1.6 million was settled upon.
At times, Team Pharoah has been criticized for running where it can make the most money before retirement, but Baffert and Zayat insist that’s not the case.
American Pharoah is victorious again. “I can’t believe I have him”. But it was Competitive Edge who took the early lead. The Equibase chart says “Easily”.
The final time for 1 1/8 miles was 1:47.95, and he paid $2.20 to win.
“What an unbelievable day”, said Dennis Drazin, advisor to Darby Development LLC, operators of the track. The Triple Crown winner’s biggest threat based on the odds is Upstart, who is 6/1. “I couldn’t be happier that this is happening in the great state of New Jersey”. He had said that he would evaluate American Pharoah after the Haskell and let the colt’s fitness and attitude decide where he went next.
“Every time we run him and work him, he keeps showing he’s getting faster and stronger”, Baffert said. “I used to be called the American pharaoh in high school”. And what happened when he met American Pharoah? But this horse, what he does, he’s just incredible.
OCEANPORT, N.J. (AP) — When the music played about 10 minutes before the start of the Haskell Invitational, there was no way American Pharoah could lose.
Keen Ice finished seventh in the Derby and took third in the Belmont.
For now, the horse’s connections are more comfortable talking about their good fortune.
Spectators at Monmouth Park got a glimpse of the Triple Crown champion’s return to racing, and he picked up right where he left off from the Belmont Stakes. American Pharoah was totally unextended, and totally emphatic. His colors, turquoise and yellow, were everywhere. He is likely to have one, maybe two, more races before the Breeders’ Cup Classic in October at Keeneland. “Me, too. We both were having fun”.
Victor Espinoza, aboard American Pharoah, (right) smiles at jockey Kent Desormeaux and Keen Ice after crossing the finish lin… Immediately after American Pharoah’s victory, trainer Bob Baffert explained, “We wanted him to run well”. The atmosphere of the Pharoah Phan Phest was one of excitement, but also a slight nervous energy, as we all waited to see if the champ could continue his winning streak or if he would be knocked off his pedestal. “It’s fun to really share him with the fans”.
“It’s extremely rare that I’m speechless”, Zayat said before he started rolling.