American Pharoah earns huge Beyer in Futurity

DEL MAR, Calif. – After a disappointing effort to start his career, American Pharoah on Wednesday showed what the hype had been about prior to his debut, with a runaway victory in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity that made him one of the top contenders for the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and allowed trainer Bob Baffert to extend his already-sizeable record in the race.

American Pharoah rolled to a 4 3/4-length victory over Calculator, with Iron Fist another 8 1/4 lengths back in third. For Baffert, it was his record 12th win in the Del Mar Futurity, all since 1996.

American Pharoah is expected to make his next start in the Grade 1 FrontRunner at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.

The 101 Beyer Speed Figure earned Wednesday by American Pharoah is the top figure of the year for a 2-year-old. The Del Mar Futurity also validated the big figure earned by Om in a maiden race here Aug. 9. American Pharoah (fifth), Calculator (fourth), and Iron Fist (second) all exited the maiden race won by Om, who had minor swelling coming out of that race and was forced to miss the Futurity.

Om has not had a work since that race.

On paper, this was not the strongest Del Mar Futurity, as four of the nine runners were still maidens. The top three finishers all came into the race winless. But American Pharoah was highly regarded going into his first race, and adjustments were made after he finished fifth as the 7-5 favorite that day. Based on the way he had trained all summer, his win, and the figure he earned, were not flukes.

“He acted up that day, was rank coming out of the paddock, and ran off,” Baffert said. “We took the blinkers off, and I put cotton in his ears, and he came back and worked really, really nice. We decided to take a shot at it.”

American Pharoah, a son of the red-hot stallion Pioneerof the Nile, was bred and is owned by Amhed Zayat’s Zayat Stables LLC.

Peter Miller, who trains Calculator, was happy with his colt’s effort.

“Not bad for a maiden, huh?” he said after the race.

Jerry Hollendorfer, who trains Iron Fist, on Thursday said he thought extra distance would benefit the son of Tapit.

“The hope always has been that he’s a two-turn horse,” Hollendorfer said. “And we’re looking forward to getting him on dirt. He ran well, considering that synthetic might not be his best surface.”