American Pharoah runners finding stakes success on dirt
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah got off to a fast start in his stud career with a number of strong turf runners, including 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Four Wheel Drive, who helped him to the freshman sire title. American Pharoah has continued his success and is now off to a fast start in 2022 with three graded stakes winners since the turn of the calendar – all on dirt.
American Pharoah, who is based at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, is the sire of As Time Goes By, who added the Grade 3 La Canada to her résumé on New Year’s Day. He also is the sire of Forbidden Kingdom, who perhaps earned himself a shot on the Kentucky Derby trail by winning the Grade 2 San Vicente on Jan. 29; and Merneith, who scored a repeat victory in the Grade 2 Santa Monica on Saturday. Those victories have him fourth on North America’s general sire list early in the year.
American Pharoah, by Pioneerof the Nile, is the sire of 200 career winners through Sunday, including 24 stakes winners. His versatile daughter Harvey’s Lil Goil is a Grade 1 winner on turf and stakes winner on dirt.
The stallion’s other 23 stakes winners still skew toward turf; he is the sire of 15 other turf stakes winners, led by Four Wheel Drive and European champion Van Gogh; seven other dirt stakes winners, including Japanese Grade 1 winner Cafe Pharoah; and one stakes winner on synthetic.