Zito on 'Pharoah': 'A Great Horse Came Along'

Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, unable to prevent a Triple Crown winner for the third time, was full of praise for the feat accomplished June 6 by American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes Presented by DraftKings (gr. I).

 

The Zayat Stables homebred became the first horse in 37 years to sweep the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), Preakness (gr. I), and Belmont, and just the 12th overall. Because of the drought and the stress of running three races in five weeks, arguments have been made to alter the Triple Crown schedule.

 

"We watched a great horse run yesterday," Zito said of American Pharoah the morning of June 7 after his Frammento's fifth-place finish in the Belmont the previous day. "Last year, California Chrome's owner said we'll never witness a Triple Crown in his lifetime. Nick Zito's been saying this for years: Don't change it. Don't change it, because it's the hardest thing to do in sports and when a great horse comes along, you'll see it.

 

'Well, a great horse came along. The game won yesterday."

 

Zito also complimented the job done by Baffert, a fellow Hall of Famer who had failed with previous Triple Crown bids in 1997, 1998, and 2002.

 

"I'm in awe about Baffert's four tries. I just can't get that out of my mind," Zito said. "It's just spectacular. Unbelievable. Most trainers, when they're done with their careers, maybe if they're lucky they'll have one chance. He's had four. It just shows you how good he is. That's it. You've got to give him credit."

 

Each of Zito's two Belmont Stakes victories, with Birdstone in 2004 and Da' Tara in 2008, dashed previous Triple Crown hopes. He was not as lucky this year with Mossarosa's Frammento, who made a move to get into contention on the far turn under Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith but flattened out and wound up fifth, 15 lengths behind American Pharoah.

 

"He came back good, thank God, and looked good," Zito said. "He was making a nice move around the turn and it looked like he'd definitely be in the money. I was hoping we'd be second or third. He was passing (Keen Ice) and as soon as Mike hit him left-handed, he just kind of lost interest. You would think it would be the opposite. As soon as he hit him, he hung. That was it.

 

"When he was hand-riding he was moving right by them and I thought, 'This is great.' Once they let (American Pharoah) get away easy, it was over."

 

Zito said Frammento will stay at Belmont Park for a few days before returning to his string at the Oklahoma training track in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., later in the week.

 

"Mike loved him. Mike said he's just learning," he said. "Gary (Stevens) said the same thing when he rode him. That's two Hall of Fame jockeys. We'll just keep pressing on, wait for the summer, head up to Saratoga and pick one of those races out. Knowing us, we may show up in the Travers (gr. I, Aug. 29)."