June 6, 2015 has been immortalized as the day a lone bay colt quenched a 37 year Triple Crown dry spell, and took the win. This colt goes by American Pharoah and after an initial lag at the Belmont starting gates, the Baffert-trained horse stole the show, going down in the books as the 12th Triple Crown winner. The horse’s name may have been misspelled, but there were very few missteps for this contender. Oddsmakers were definitely on the money with this star colt, accurately deeming him the chief contender as the 5/2 Kentucky Derby favorite, the 4/5 favorite for the Preakness and the 3/5 favorite for the Belmont. Similarly, both trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza kept the faith and were certain of the big win.
It’s an impressive hat-trick. American Pharoah kept his sea legs at the Belmont, showing no signs of tiring after taking both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before taking the third and last race of the Triple Crown. The Kentucky Derby saw the star colt start from post No. 18, letting Dortmund (the third-place finisher) determine the pace before American Pharoah overtook the pack, with a close finish ahead of Frosted.
In the Preakness, American Pharoah, navigating through a precariously muddy and wet track, broke away from post No. 1, but was immediately challenged by Mr. Z. Meanwhile, Dortmund made an attempt to break into American Pharoah’s turf from the outside for an advantage, but the bay colt pulled away from Dortmund’s encroachment and raced to the win, finishing seven lengths ahead of second place finisher, Tale of Verve.
After claiming the first two jewels of the Triple Crown, the star colt set his sights on the Belmont. Expectations were certainly high, especially after the colt’s previous two wins, but fresh horses trained for upsetting Triple Crown hopefuls were amongst the competition. Jockey Espinoza gets due credit for guiding American Pharoah out of a shaky start after the colt jumped back when the gates swung open. In a blur, American Pharoah sped to lead the pack and thrilled his fans with an impressive show, finishing a good 5 ½ lengths ahead of Frosted.
According to Ahmed Zayat, the Triple Crown champion’s proud owner, the colt is set to withdraw from competitive racing by the end of the year, and will be primarily used for studding. Zayat has sold three quarters of the breeding rights to Ashford Stud, but we’ll hopefully witness this magnificent colt compete in the Haskell, the Jim Dandy and the Pacific Classic, as indicated by American Pharoah’s trainer, Bob Baffert.