American Pharoah Closes Career on High Note With Classic Win
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His win in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (above) secured American Pharoah the Triple Crown. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
LEXINGTON, Ky. – American Pharoah cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats on Saturday when he added the $5-million Breeders’ Cup Classic to his Triple Crown triumphs for racing’s first Grand Slam.
A tremendous crowd at Keeneland Race Course gave the first Triple Crown champion in 37 years to a rousing ovation when he was saddled in the paddock. By the time his valiant front-running effort for jockey Victor Espinoza was over, the noise was deafening.
American Pharoah’s run to glory provided a fitting end to a season for the ages and to a storybook career in behalf of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and Zayat Stables. The bay son of Pioneerof the Nile won for the seventh time in eight starts this season and for the ninth time in 11 career starts.
The only blemishes occurred when his inexperience showed during a fifth place finish in his debut as a 2-year-old last August at Del Mar. His second cross-country trek in four weeks almost surely contributed to his runner-up finish to Keen Ice in the Travers on Aug. 29 at New York’s Saratoga Race Course.
Owner Ahmed Zayat, hailed for his sportsmanship when he resisted the temptation to retire the colt immediately after his Belmont Stakes rout, was so downcast in defeat he indicated immediately after the Travers that American Pharoah would likely be retired. An agreement with Coolmore had been in place for months.
Baffert, though, was convinced the 12th Triple Crown champion was not done, that he could tap into the 3-year-old’s innate ability one final time. He trained him up to the Classic with a steady stream of works, as demanding as they were breathtaking.
It helped, too, that everything fell Pharoah’s way in the days leading to his career finale. The connections of Liam’s Map, who possesses a high cruising speed, opted for the Dirt Mile, a race he won on Friday. The tremendous mare Beholder was withdrawn from the Classic on Thursday due to illness. Stewards scratched Smooth Roller on the morning of the race after veterinarians discovered an issue with a tendon in his left foreleg. Both potential entries loomed as factors in the early pace.
Pharoah seized his opportunity the way legends do. He provided a moment that those who jammed into this idyllic track to watch the first Breeders’ Cup, that those who watched around the globe, will never forget.