American Pharoah Reigns in Belmont, Triple Crown Drought Ends

American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park to complete a sweep of the Triple Crown. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
By Tom Pedulla, America's Best Racing
ELMONT, N.Y. – At last!
Front-running American Pharoah ended the longest drought in Triple Crown history with a smashing 5 1/2-length triumph in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday to emerge as the first horse to complete the historic sweep since Affirmed in 1978.
One of the magnificent feats in all of sports had become so elusive that many questioned whether horses were being bred for the task and whether the format of three races in five weeks should be changed. But American Pharoah, the 14th horse since Affirmed to venture to Belmont Park in pursuit of racing immortality, showed that the massive challenge can still be met.
It takes greatness. And American Pharoah, celebrated for his too-short tail, his ultra-sensitive hearing  that leads Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to stuff his ears with cotton and his misspelled name,  achieved that stature for Zayat Stables as the 12th Triple Crown champion.
“I don’t know if I will ever have another horse like that,” said Baffert, “and I’ve had some great horses.”
2015 BELMONT STAKES

Video courtesy of NYRA
Baffert, 62, said he thought of his late parents throughout American Pharoah’s tour de force. “They were with me today,” he said. “I was talking to them the whole race.”
With nerveless Victor Espinoza in the saddle, the bay son of Pioneerof the Nile followed his grinding one-length Kentucky Derby victory and seven-length Preakness romp with a Belmont triumph that prompted a mighty roar from a crowd limited to 90,000 fans.
As American Pharoah widened his lead with every sweet stride, announcer Larry Collmus exclaimed, “The 37-year wait is over! American Pharoah is finally the one!”
There was no sweating this finish. The outcome was so clear that Baffert, who suffered a major heart attack while preparing for a race in Dubai three years ago, allowed himself to breathe the rare air. “All I did was just take in the crowd,” he said. “The crowd was just thundering and I was just enjoying the crowd and the noise and everything happening.”
AMERICAN PHAROAH RACES INTO HISTORY BOOKS

Fans came here, those who had seen Affirmed fight off Alydar in the three spring classics and those who had merely heard of that trilogy, hungering for history. The wait of almost four decades must have felt like an eternity to Baffert.
The Hall of Fame trainer missed on three previous Triple Crown bids, when Touch Gold ran down Silver Charm by three-quarters of a length in 1997, when Victory Gallop overtook Real Quiet by a nose in 1998, and when War Emblem was doomed from the start, stumbling out of the gate in 2002.
Espinoza was a helpless passenger with War Emblem. He was thwarted for a second time last year when the grind of three races in five weeks took its toll on California Chrome, the immensely-popular California-bred who lacked punch in the Belmont and dead-heated for fourth.
American Pharoah, after turning in two sharp workouts at Churchill Downs, was as primed as he could be to race into history. Baffert knew it. He said he told Espinoza in the paddock, “Dude, he is ready. Go ahead and ride him with confidence.”
Ahmed Zayat, head of Zayat Stables, knew it, too. He saw how relaxed and energetic the horse looked during the post parade. He turned to his wife and said, “Get ready to be the owner of the 12th Triple Crown champion.”
Espinoza knew it as well. “He broke a step slow, but in two jumps I was on the lead,” he said.
Materiality, freshened after a sharp-closing sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, tried to stick with American Pharoah through fractions of 24.06 for the opening quarter of a mile, 48.83 for the opening half. They were still one-two after a mile that went in 1:37.99.
American Pharoah was just finding his best stride; Materiality and jockey John Velazquez began to fade until they finished last in the overmatched field of eight. Frosted, with Joel Rosario in the irons, attempted to make a run at the leader. It was to no avail. Keen Ice rallied for third despite a wide trip under Kent Desormeaux.
Espinoza, 43, ventured from Mexico to pursue the American dream as a jockey based on the West Coast. He said as soon as American Pharoah splashed home in the Preakness that the third try would be the charm for him.
And it was, giving the sport the superstar it yearned for.
American Pharoah, after racing for the fourth time in eight weeks, is scheduled to return to Churchill Downs for a well-deserved rest. Zayat said he hoped to race American Pharoah at least until the end of the year.
As for the fans, they are enjoying a ride they wish would never end.
For an Equibase chart, click here.

SLIDESHOW: BELMONT STAKES