ELMONT, N.Y. – Todd Pletcher said he will never know if he made the right decision when opting to keep Materiality out of the Preakness Stakes and wait for the Belmont Stakes.
What he does know, especially after Friday morning, is that in Materiality he has one of – if not the – major threats to American Pharoah’s Triple Crown bid in the $1.5 million Belmont on June 6.
Belmont Park on Friday
Weather: Clear
Track: Fast
Temperature: 57
ELMONT, N.Y. – Only six of the 11 potential Belmont Stakes starters are currently stabled at Belmont Park. Four of those six worked for the June 6 race on Friday: trainer Todd Pletcher’s trio of Materiality, Carpe Diem, and Madefromlucky and Kiaran McLaughlin’s Frosted, the sneaky-good fourth-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner American Pharoah was out for his first gallop since his seven-length romp at Pimlico when going through a routine bit of training Friday at Churchill Downs.
Among the first horses out onto a freshly harrowed racetrack at 8:31 a.m. Eastern, and with regular exercise rider Jorge Alvarez up, American Pharoah backtracked to the seven-furlong pole on the clubhouse turn before turning around and quickly getting into his gallop.
Ahmed Zayat, the man behind American Pharoah, likes to say that his homebred colt by a homebred stallion is a family production, “A to Z.” No argument here.
But while we’re on the subject, the Triple Crown challenge faced by American Pharoah in the 147th Belmont Stakes on June 6 deserves an A-to-Z treatment of its own. I lobbied hard to use the 13-character Hawaiian alphabet, but my editor insisted on the traditional 26. So, here goes:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner American Pharoah began his bid toward the June 6 Belmont Stakes with a once-around jog Thursday morning at Churchill Downs, a routine bit of exercise that took a mere seven minutes to complete.
“I saw what I needed to see,” said Jim Barnes, assistant to trainer Bob Baffert.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Mubtaahij has been in New York for less than a week, but he’s already gotten a lot done as he prepares for the June 6 Belmont Stakes.
On Sunday, Mubtaahij worked five furlongs in company on the Belmont turf course, timed in 1:01.11. On Wednesday, the Irish-bred colt, who finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby, went out for a spin over Belmont’s main track, working a sharp three-furlongs in 36.02 seconds. He galloped out four furlongs in 47.88 seconds and pulled up five-eighths in 1:02.94.
The clock was always ticking. From the moment he crossed the line in the Kentucky Derby, American Pharoah was on his way to stud sooner than later. It was only left to the who, where, and how much – Coolmore, Ashford, healthy eight figures – but as to the when ... ?
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – He did it again – and one day, he hopes, he will take it a little farther.
Trainer Dallas Stewart sent out yet another longshot to blow up the gimmicks in a Triple Crown event when Tale of Verve closed steadily to be second at 28-1 in the 140th Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico.
Dual classic winner American Pharoah, seeking to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, will stand at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky., upon his retirement, owner Ahmed Zayat said Wednesday morning.
American Pharoah, a son of Pioneerof the Nile, races as a homebred for Zayat Stables. Zayat said Tuesday evening that he will retain management of the colt through the end of his 3-year-old campaign, and that the colt would continue to race in his colors.
American Pharoah beat 17 rivals in the Kentucky Derby, just seven showed up to futilely challenge him last Saturday in the Preakness, and it looks as if he’ll have about 10 opponents in the June 6 Belmont Stakes when he attempts to become the first horse to sweep the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.
