American Pharoah Back on Track at Churchill Downs
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American Pharoah at Churchill Downs. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Returning to the track for the first time since his Preakness Stakes romp last Saturday, American Pharoah went for a mile jog around Churchill Downs today.
The colt shipped to Churchill Downs on Monday to train up to the Belmont Stakes but had just walked the shed row on Tuesday and Wednesday. Trainer Bob Baffert’s assistant Jimmy Barnes was happy with American Pharoah’s energy level during his morning exercise and is waiting to hear from Baffert on whether the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will jog again or gallop tomorrow morning.
"He looked very good, I couldn't be happier," said Barnes. "His energy level is good. "We'll go to the track tomorrow and Bob [Baffert] will tell me what he wants to do. If he says jog him another day, we'll jog him another day. If he says gallop, then we'll gallop. Bottom line, he is in charge; I'm just the caretaker of the horse."
The plan to send American Pharoah to Churchill Downs instead of shipping to New York to prepare for the final leg of the Triple Crown is nothing new for Baffert, who has prepared his three other Triple Crown hopefuls (Silver Charm, Real Quiet and War Emblem) the same way.
AMERICAN PHAROAH AT CHURCHILL DOWNS THURSDAY
Photo by Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer
This plan is easier on the Baffert barn as he has a full string at Churchill Downs under Barnes’s care. In addition, it lets the horse return to the familiar surroundings he trained at before the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, keeping him to the winning routine he’s followed in the first two legs.
“We come back here with all of our Derby horses and we usually come back this way," Barnes said. "I'd prefer to train here, we're set up here and our barn is here. I mean New York is all right. It's a big track and a sandy track. You get a lot of weather that you get here, but we're comfortable here.”
One horse who did ship straight to New York from Pimlico is Preakness runner-up Tale of Verve. The Preakness run was Tale of Verve’s first run at the graded stakes level and marked the third consecutive year Dallas Stewart had a horse finish second in an American classic race.