American Pharoah, Keen Ice Head to Belmont

American Pharoah departs Churchill Downs Tuesday morning. (Photo by Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography)
A day after his final work for the Belmont Stakes, American Pharoah walked the shed row at Churchill Downs before catching a flight to New York. 
"He looked very good this morning; we're loaded, packed and ready to go," said Jimmy Barnes, trainer Bob Baffert's assistant. "My mind right now is focusing on getting a safe trip to New York and what kind of post position we'll draw and all that. But other than that it's just anxiousness. You just want to run the race. We've done everything we can do on our part, except for getting a safe trip to New York and getting through the paddock and then it will be all up to Victor [Espinoza]." 
Leaving the track at about 10 a.m., American Pharoah’s flight took off at 11:40 a.m. and was scheduled to land in New York at 1:15 p.m. 
Also on the flight was Donegal Racing’s Keen Ice who worked at about 6:15 a.m. this morning. The colt, who is also slated to race in the Belmont Stakes, breezed four furlongs in 50.20 seconds with exercise rider and assistant trainer Tammy Fox in the saddle. 
“I thought he looked great and he worked great; it looked perfect. He's doing so good that it's scary. It's all a matter of whether or not he's good enough. There's not another fear to have,” said Dale Romans, Keen Ice’s trainer. “With a lack of pace he [Keen Ice] will be laying closer. This is a race that even though people think it's for a deep closer, it's not; you need to be in the race. Woody Stephens said years ago that it's a speed horse race going a mile-and-a-half and so lack of pace will keep us in contact and I know that we have the endurance to keep going." 
Keen Ice was seventh in the Kentucky Derby and is one of five Belmont Stakes contenders who raced in the Kentucky Derby but skipped the Preakness Stakes. The Belmont Stakes probables list has eight horses in the race with only one horse, Madefromlucky, who hasn’t raced in any of the Triple Crown races so far.
Possible Belmont Stakes Field

Horse

Trainer

Most Recent Race

American Pharoah

Bob Baffert

Won Preakness

Frammento

Nick Zito

11th in Kentucky Derby

Frosted

Kiaran McLaughlin

4th in Kentucky Derby

Keen Ice

Dale Romans

7th in Kentucky Derby

Madefromlucky

Todd Pletcher

Won Peter Pan Stakes

Materiality

Todd Pletcher

6th in Kentucky Derby

Mubtaahij

Mike de Kock

8th in Kentucky Derby

Tale of Verve

Dallas Stewart

2nd in Preakness