After Triple Crown win, American Pharoah eyes summer stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – After winning the Triple Crown, what can a horse do for an encore? It is a question that has not been asked for 37 years, but as with most of the 11 who preceded him, American Pharoah will get a chance to further cement his legacy with a post-Triple Crown campaign before he goes off to stud.

Gallant Fox in 1930, Count Fleet in 1943, and Secretariat in 1973 are the closest parallels to American Pharoah, who, like those three, is not expected to race beyond his 3-year-old year, his breeding rights having been sold to Coolmore, which operates Ashford Stud in Kentucky. Even if he races as many as four times between now and the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland, that would give American Pharoah just 12 lifetime starts, which would be the fewest of any Triple Crown winner.

So, every race will be magnified in its importance. Like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed – the three prior Triple Crown winners – American Pharoah already has cemented titles as Horse of the Year and champion male 3-year-old. The remainder of his racing career will determine just how much shine is applied to an already-glittering career and where he will rank with the all-time greats.

The first potential post-Triple Crown spot for American Pharoah is the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Aug. 2, a race that Bob Baffert, American Pharoah’s trainer, has won a record seven times, including four of the last five. That is a far more appealing option that weekend than the Aug. 1 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, which is a Grade 2 compared with the Haskell’s Grade 1 status, and whose purse is $400,000 smaller.

Later in August, options would include the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 22 and the $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 29. The Pacific Classic is against older horses but is run under appealing weight-for-age conditions. It will be run at the track at which American Pharoah is expected to be training this summer, and though he is based in California, he has yet to run there this year.

Del Mar is also where owner Ahmed Zayat and his family will spend the summer. Zayat was one of the leading critics in 2007 when Del Mar first put in the synthetic surface Polytrack. It has been removed, so Del Mar will be back on dirt this summer, and there would be no better endorsement from Zayat of that switch than to run the biggest “get” in racing right now.

But if American Pharoah does return in early August, the Pacific Classic would require running back in three weeks compared with four for the Travers. Three weeks vs. four, remain home vs. ship, face elders or straight 3-year-olds – there is much to ponder there.

With the Breeders’ Cup Classic being the year-end goal, one final prep will be needed. With American Pharoah based in California, the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita makes the most sense.

None of this will be determined, though, until American Pharoah returns to serious training. He traveled to Churchill Downs on Sunday and will parade there Saturday night on the Stephen Foster Handicap card. After that, American Pharoah will head back to Santa Anita.

So far, though, Baffert likes what he sees. “He looked to me like I could run him back in three weeks,” he said at Belmont Park on Sunday, the day after the Belmont Stakes.

Much has been expected of American Pharoah since before he ever debuted last summer. “Bob never hypes a horse for me, but he kept telling me, ‘This is the one, this is the one. I’ve been waiting my whole life for a horse like this,’ ” Zayat said.

His first start was an abject disaster. He was nervous, out of sorts, and ran far below expectations. Blinkers were removed, earplugs added, Victor Espinoza climbed aboard, and American Pharoah has been flawless since.

The journey has not been without hiccups. American Pharoah sustained a suspensory injury the week of the Breeders’ Cup and missed the Juvenile, in which he would have been heavily favored. The length of his recuperation meant that when he finally started timed workouts in early February, he could nary afford a misstep to make the preps for the Kentucky Derby, let alone the Triple Crown.

But he trained like a monster. “He loves to train. He’s so happy,” Baffert said.

Gary Young, a well-respected clocker in Southern California who is not prone to hyperbole, said before the Arkansas Derby that American Pharoah was the best horse he’d seen since Seattle Slew.

“When he won the Arkansas Derby, I thought, ‘Oh, crap, this is a really good horse. That’s when I started getting nervous,” Baffert said.

American Pharoah went to Churchill Downs and won the Derby in the toughest fight he’s had when winning. He flew up to Pimlico and braved a torrential downpour to romp in the Preakness. “He just took everything in stride, never missed a meal,” Baffert said.

And then American Pharoah went back to Churchill Downs, where he had two works in advance of the Belmont, the final one June 1, five days before the race, with Martin Garcia aboard.

“His breezes before he came here, they were sick,” Baffert said. “He still had his fastball.”

At Belmont Park on Saturday, racing for the fifth time in 12 weeks, the fourth time in eight weeks, and – as required by the Triple Crown schedule – for the third time in five weeks, American Pharoah polished off the Belmont Stakes with authority.

“When he made the lead on the first turn, his ears went forward,” Baffert said. “That’s a happy horse right there.”

After one lap around Belmont Park, American Pharoah was all alone. The longest drought in Triple Crown history was over.

“This horse is something else,” said Jorge Alvarez, the exercise rider for American Pharoah. “It wasn’t 37 years for no reason.”

Added Baffert: “I’ve never had a horse like that. He was made for it. You just have to wait for these superior horses to come around.”

The planning for the rest of the year will come soon enough. Right now, “I’m just enjoying the moment,” Baffert said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever have a horse of this caliber.”