Being Justin Zayat: Walk-Up Music for Pharoah, Travers Talk

Justin Zayat (binoculars) watches Triple Crown winner American Pharoah's final workout in preparation for the Travers Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Ten questions a day from America’s Best Racing didn’t keep Justin Zayat of Zayat Stables from enjoying a victory with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in this month’s William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes. So the encore begins as Pharoah is readied for Saturday’s Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. A day before his own trip east from California, the 23-year-old racing and stallion manager for Zayat Stables fields 10 new questions, which he will do through this weekend for America’s Best Racing.
1. Could you take me through the steps that took you from winning the Haskell to choosing the Travers?
After we won the Haskell, we didn’t really discuss the next race until we flew him back to California. Really, it was that first workout back that gave us an indication that, hey, we may go over there to Saratoga. It was always in the back of our mind, but the horse always comes first. We had to bring him back to Del Mar and watch him train a couple days. We sat with [trainer] Bob [Baffert], we watched his first work, and he worked very well, but he kind of went easy just to cruise around the track. His last work, Sunday, we knew was going to be a more serious work. As soon as he put it in, he gave us all the indications he was ready. It was an easy conversation. If the horse wasn’t ready, we could have always tried the Pennsylvania Derby. There were all the other races. Monmouth offered. Churchill threw their hat in the circle saying “we would like to discuss a race with you after the Travers.” Del Mar offered to put the Pacific Classic off a week. Everyone wants the horse at their track, but we were all on Pharoah’s schedule. There were tons of options to go with, but the Travers was on the top of the priority list for all of us.
2. What does it mean for American Pharoah’s legacy to be in the “Midsummer Derby” at historic Saratoga?
It would be like winning the Kentucky Derby again. You’re going to Saratoga, the most prestigious racetrack in America. The biggest race of the meet, going 1¼ miles. Obviously, he already has a legacy being a Triple Crown winner, but to win a race like the Travers would be huge. When I went to Saratoga [earlier this month] all the fans were yelling at me – “Please come, please come, please come.” We really saw how much they wanted him there. They’re all pumped. It’s awesome.
PHAROAH READY TO ROLL IN TRAVERS

3. Could you tell me three things you have learned from Bob Baffert?
I’ve learned way more than three things from Bob Baffert in my life. First, your horses will tip you off. I always know never to ask Bob about their races until after they work. Another thing I learned is that he deals with a lot of adversity in a good way. When things are tough or he’s in high-pressure situations, he’ll crack some jokes to lighten up the mood. He makes everyone around him relax and feel good. The third thing? I learned just about horses from him in general. You can’t go hard on the horse every single day. Look at Pharoah. He’s kept the horse on his peak and at the top of his game for 12 months. There are certain things he does with horses that are just incredible. 
4. Which horse do you fear the most in the Travers?
I fear all of them. I think they’re all in the same boat, especially the ones who have faced Pharoah before. Texas Red has obviously come back after he won the Breeders’ Cup [Juvenile] and won the Jim Dandy. Frosted ran second-best in the Belmont. Keen Ice going 1¼ miles is going to stretch out after he was closing up on us in the Haskell. I don’t know if Upstart is going or not. Those are the obvious contenders. They’re all ready. They’re all coming off top races. They’re going to come at us hard. But I’m so confident in Pharoah, I’m not scared of anyone. It’s not like he hasn’t done this before. I’m coming in confident, but you know what happens in racing. I just want Pharoah to run his race. That’s really what I’m scared of.
5. American Pharoah has traveled more than 16,000 miles the past six months. Does he get frequent flier points, and should he?
He deserves them, doesn’t he? He does not get them, and he’s treated like any other horse when he travels. OK, he gets on the plane last and he gets off first. But he takes the same Tex Sutton (Forwarding Co.) flight all the horses do when they go across America. 
TRAVEL IS PART OF THE JOB FOR PHAROAH

Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing
6. If you could choose walk-out music for American Pharoah like batters have in baseball, what would it be?
I think about this every day. It could be like “Eye of the Tiger.” Honestly, it changes day to day. Sometimes, it’s pump-up music. Sometimes, I think of “We Are the Champions.” For Pharoah, it has to be champion-like. I’ve been trying to think about this. I’ll have an answer for this one tomorrow. Make it a bonus question.
7. Do you have any secrets to how you will calm your nerves before the Travers?
Sometimes, I’ll just close my eyes for like a second so I can just relax and breathe. Most of the time, my eyes are peeled on the horse. Sometimes, I’ll talk to my friends, talk to my family and get my mind off it. In the paddock before the Haskell with Bill Murray there, he lightened the mood a little. Gov. Christie was also in the paddock. All these people made a real good distraction at the time.
JUSTIN ZAYAT CONGRATULATES JOCKEY VICTOR ESPINOZA AFTER HASKELL

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
8. How many carrots does American Pharoah eat in a day?
At least 30 a day. He gets little, baby carrots. He gets only the best carrots. He really feels a connection to all the people in the barn, but when he sees [assistant] Dana Barnes, he just stops. He expects her to give him a carrot. Even when he’s cooling down, when he sees Dana he won’t walk until Dana comes and brings him over a carrot. It’s very funny. 
9. Since Onion upset Secretariat in the 1973 Whitney at Saratoga, will you eat any onions this week?
I’m definitely not going to be eating any onions this week. I do like onions, but I’m going to try not to think about having any this week. 
10. Will there be another race for American Pharoah after the Travers and before the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31?
As long as the horse tells us that he comes back a happy, healthy horse, then I’d say yes. But he does not have to, because he doesn’t owe us anything. We’d love to see him run, and it would be great for the sport and great for everyone. Every single race is race by race. Obviously, we’d love to win the Breeders’ Cup, but the Breeders’ Cup is in October. That’s far away. We’ll do just like we did after the Haskell. We’ll wait to see how he trains. Hopefully, he’ll be racing again, but we’ll wait until after the Travers. Could he go without a race between the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup? He could do it. Pharoah can do anything.
ZAYAT WITH BAFFERT

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire