American Pharoah has storybook ending with BC Classic win

Earlier this year, American Pharoah became the first Thoroughbred in 38 years to win the Triple Crown.

That, all by itself, made the 3-year old son of Pioneerof the Nile one of the great Thoroughbreds in horse racing history.

After his win on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Keeneland in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), American Pharoah became a legend.

In his final career start under his regular jockey, Victor Espinoza, American Pharoah broke cleanly from the starting gate, took the early lead and went gate-to-wire in a dominating performance to win the Classic by 6-1/2 lengths and complete, what is now being termed, horse racing's Grand Slam (the Triple Crown and the BC Classic).

American Pharoah, winner of the 2015 Triple Crown, put on a powerful performance to capture the 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic victory at Keeneland on Saturday, Oct. 31, and in the process, wrote a storybook ending to his career. (Racing photo courtesy of Wendy Wooley/EquiSportPhotos.com)

Finishing second was Effinex, followed by Honor Code, Keen Ice, Tonalist, Hard Aces, Frosted and Gleneagles (Ire).

A son of Pioneerof the Nile-Littleprincessemma, by Yankee Gentelman, American Pharoah ran the 1-1/4-mile race on a track rated fast in 2:00.7.

"He gave everyone what they came to see today," said Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in an Oct. 31, 2015, article on BloodHorse.com. "I've never seen anything like him; I've never trained anything like him. I'm just glad Pharoah goes out the champ he is."

American Pharoah truly did write a storybook-type ending to his career.

After winning the Triple Crown earlier this year by capturing the Kentucky Derby (G1), Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1), he went on to win the Haskell Invitational (G1) in his next race.

But then he suffered a setback when he lost his next race, the Travers Stakes (G1), at Saratoga to Keen Ice.

His loss at "The Graveyard of Champions," as Saratoga is known, put him in good company, as it was at that track that Man O' War and Secretariat both lost races there.

So, coming into the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, there were some doubters that wondered if American Pharoah was not the same horse that had won the Triple Crown. Did his loss in the Travers show that he'd lost a step?

Well, in the Classic, American Pharoah brilliantly showed that the Travers was a fluke and that he is not only the best race horse in America this year, but that he is clearly one of the all-time great Thoroughbreds ever to set foot on the track.

American Pharoah completes his career with eight wins, one second and $5,980,300 in earnings in 10 career starts. In addition, he won nine Grade 1 races in his career, seven of them in 2015.

On Sunday morning, as has been their custom throughout the year, Baffert and American Pharoah's owners, the Zayat family, shared American Pharoah with his fans. They paraded him outside their Keeneland barn and allowed fans to pet him and get their photos taken with him. There were smiles all around.

Then on Monday, there were a few tears for American Pharoah's team, as they travelled up the road to Ashford Stud in Versailles, to say farewell to their beloved champion. American Pharoah will now stand at stud at the farm in 2016.

There were 12 other races in the Breeders' Cup Championships, which took place on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31.

Here are a few others to note.

On Friday, Liam's Map, ridden by Javier Castellano, came back from the mid-pack in the stretch to win the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) by 2-1/2 lengths over Lea.

Finishing third in the 11-horse race for 3-year-olds and up was Red Vine.

Liam's Map, who is by Unbridled's Song-Miss Macy Sue, by Trippi, ran the race on a track rated fast in 1:34.54.

Owned by Teresa Viola Racing Stables and West Point Thoroughbreds, and trained by Todd Pletcher, Liam's Map has six wins, two seconds and $1,378,940 in earnings in eight career starts.

After the race, it was announced that Liam's Map will stand at stud at Lane's End in Versailles starting in 2016.

Also on Friday in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), Stopchargingmaria battled side-by-side with Stellar Wind down the stretch and crossed the wire a winner by just a neck. Finishing third in the 14-horse field was Curalina.

Stopchargingmaria, who is by Tale of the Cat-Exotic Bloom, by Montibrook, ran the 1-1/8th mile race on the dirt in 1:48.98.

Owned by Town and Country Farms and trained by Pletcher, Stopchargingmaria now has nine wins, three seconds, one third and $2,924,000 in earnings in 16 career starts.

Also on Friday:
* $1 million BC Juvenile Turf (G1): Hit it a Bomb
* $1 million BC Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1): Catch a Glimpse

On Saturday, in addition to the Classic, there were nine other Breeders’ Cup Championship races.

In the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1), Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Stephanie’s Kitten came from back from last place under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., took the lead from Legatissimo (Ire) in the stretch, and crossed the wire a 1-1/4-length winner.

Finishing third in the 10-horse field of fillies and mares 3-years old and up was Queen’s Jewel (GB).

Stephanie’s Kitten, who is named after one of the Ramsey’s granddaughters, ran the 1-3/16th-mile race on a turf course rated good, in 1:56.22.

Trained by Chad Brown, Stephanie’s Kitten, who is by Kitten’s Joy-Unfold the Rose, by Catienus, closes out her career with 11 wins, four seconds, four thirds and $4,292,904 in earnings in 25 career starts.

On Sunday at the Fasig-Tipon November sale, Stehanie's Kitten was put on the auction block, but failed to sell. Ramsey had set a reserve of $3 million, but bought the mare back for $2.95 million.

However, on Monday, in a private sale, the mare was sold to Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm in Japan for $2.8 million.

"There was a sigh of relief last night (at the Fasig Tipton sale) because the family did not want to sell her," said Ramsey in a Nov. 2, 2015 article on BloodHorse.com. "But this was a business decision, and I wish them (Norhern Farm) much success."

In one other race of note on Saturday, the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), fan-favorite Runhappy, under jockey Edgar Prado, tracked the race leaders in third place for most of the race, came out of the final turn five-wide, and then took off down the stretch to win the race over second-place finisher Private Zone by three-quarters of a length.

In addition, Runhappy not only won the race, but also set a track record in the Sprint, as he finished the six-furlong race in 1:08.58.

"Oh my God, oh my God," said Runhappy's trainer Maria Borell. "I was worried, I'm not going to lie. Track record, really? Oh my God. I am just not used to him not going to the lead like that. I was nervous. That is the first time he stalked off the pace like that. I was nervous, but he did it. I can't believe it.

With the win, Runhappy, who is by Super Saver-Bella Jolie, by Broken Vow, now has six wins and $1,306,300 in seven career starts.

Borell, who trains Runhappy at the Thoroughbred Training Center on Paris Pike, was handed the 3-year-old colt's training duties earlier this year and guided him to four-straight victories, including break out performances in the King Bishop Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 29 and in the Phoenix Stakes (G3) at Keeneland on Oct. 2.

The horse-training duo's crowning achievement this year then came on Saturday with their win in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, which completed one of the best story-lines of the weekend.

But then on Sunday, the feel-good story came to an abrupt end when Runhappy's owner, James McIngvale, inexplicably fired Borell, and handed the colt’s training duties to Laura Wohlers, his sister-in-law.

According to an Oct. 31 BloodHorse.com article, the day after the race, Borell felt heat in one of Runhappy's legs. Wohlers, who is also McIngvale's racing manager, disagreed and still wanted to send the horse out to the track to work out. The disagreement continued and Borell was fired.

It was really no surprise, as McIngvale, who owns a string of mattress stores in Texas, has gone through trainers faster than a horse can eat a bucket of oats. Still, it turned one of the best storylines of the Breeders' Cup Championships into the worst, and will, no doubt, raise the interest in Borell as a trainer, while causing a PR nightmare for McIngvale and Wohlers.

Other races on Saturday:
* $2 million BC Juvenile Fillies (G1): Songbird
* $1 million BC Turf Sprint (G1): Mongolian Saturday
* $1 million BC Filly & Mare Sprint (G1): Wavell Avenue
* $2 million BC Mile (G1): Tepin
* $2 million BC Juvenile (G1): Nyquist
* $3 million BC Turf (G1): Found

(Information collected from EquiBase.com Keeneland press releases, BloodHorse.com, PedigreeQuery.com and Brisnet.com)

America Pharoah prepares for Breeders' Cup Classic

On a beautiful Thursday morning, Oct. 29, just two days before his historic victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic, American Pharoah took a morning jog at Keeneland on the lower training track off Rice Road.

The workout was captured beautifully by a friend of mine, Steve Blake, of MultiExposures.com.

The lighting that day was great, and Steve was able to capture AP with all four feet off the ground. A beautiful image.

American Pharoah works out at Keeneland on the lower training track off Rice Road on Thursday, Oct. 29, two days prior to his historic win in the Breeders' Cup Classic. (Photo by Steve Blake/MultiExposures.com)

Beholder wins the Zenyatta Stakes; onto Breeders' Cup

She made it look easy – again!

In another impressive performance, Beholder, the two-time Eclipse award winner who was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, stalked the race leaders until the home stretch, and then pulled away to win the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes (G1) by 3-1/2 lengths over My Sweet Addiction.

Beholder, with jockey Gary Stevens riding, easily won the 2015 Zenyatta Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita on Sept. 26, 2015 by 3-1/2 lengths. (Photo by Benoit Photo)

Finishing third in the eight-horse field of fillies and mares 3-years-old and up was Savings Account.

"I hate to say easy, but it really did look easy," said winning trainer Richard Mandella, who trains Beholder for Spendthrift Farm. "She's good. She's really, really good."

Rounding out the order of finish was My Monet in fourth, followed by Big Book, Wild in the Saddle, Warren's and Kyriaki.

Beholder, a 5-year-old filly by Henny Hughes-Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek, ran the 1-1/16th-mile race in 1:42.83. She now has 15 wins, three seconds and $4,436,600 in earnings in 20 career starts.

According to a Sept. 27, 2015 BloodHorse.com article, the victory was the sixth straight for Beholder, her ninth Grade 1 win, her 11th win at Santa Anita and her third straight win in the Zenyatta Stakes, which equaled Zenyatta's own mark. (At the time she won it three times, the race was called the Lady Secret Stakes (G1).

If all horses stay healthy, the win sets up a potential match-up between Beholder, the 2012 champion 2-year-old filly and 2013 champion 3-year-old filly, and 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky.

"I'm not going to make any predictions, but I can't wait to get to Keeneland," said Stevens. "I just hope everybody shows up like they did today. I'll probably feel less pressure going into the Classic than what I felt today. I knew we had to get through this one as easy as possible and it was."

Also expected in the Classic is Keen Ice, who recently defeated American Pharaoh in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga, Frosted, Honor Code, Liam's Map, and Tonalist, to name just a few.

(Information gathered from EquiBase.com, SantaAnita.com, BloodHorse.com, BreedersCup.com, and PedigreeQuery.com.)

Riva Way enjoys retirement at Old Friends

Riva Way keeps the legacy of Meadow Stables alive at Old Friends, with both Secretariat and Riva Ridge on both sides of his pedigree.

Officially, Riva way is by Tinners Way-Yia Yia, by Riva Ridge.

So, on one side of Riva’s pedigree is Secretariat. Riva’s sire, Tinners Way, who is a retiree at Old Friends, is by Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner.

On the other side of his pedigree is Yia Yia, who is by Riva Ridge, the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stake’s winner.

In his career, Riva Way won 11 races, mostly claiming races in the New Jersey-Philadelphia area. In all, Riva finished second three times, eighth eight times and earned $109,915 in 56 career starts.

According to the Old Friends website, “Riva's wins included, three consecutive triumphs at Monmouth Park in 2003.

“... (However), when injuries prevented Riva Way from again racing competitively, he was acquired for Old Friends by Maya de Rosa.”

Now, Riva Ridge, who is my all-time favorite horse, is the reason I originally went to visit Old Friends back in 2008. I went specially to see Riva Way.

In a funny story, on my first visit to Old Friends, Riva Way’s sign was posted on a fence where five geldings lived. Since Riva was the reason for my visit, I asked, “Which one is Riva Way.” The tour guide who was there that day (and who is no longer at Old Friends) said, “I’m sorry. I don’t really know. But, he’s one of those,” and she pointed out to the field where those five horses were grazing.

Two weeks later when I returned to meet Michael Blowen, the founder and owner of Old Friends, he said, “Oh, Riva’s not in that field. He’s down the street at Dr. (Doug) Byar’s farm,” and he then took the time to drive me down the street, where I got to meet Riva, a beautiful chestnut horse who came trotting up to the fence when Michael called his name.

At the time, Riva lived in a huge paddock at Dr. Byar’s farm with two other horses, Cappucino Kid, who currently lives in one of the big paddocks at the back of the main farm, and another sweet little gelding, Bingo, who has since passed away.

No question, Riva is still one of my favorite horses at Old Friends, and I try and make sure that I go visit him as many times as I can when I go up to the farm.

Yesterday, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, was one of those days. It was a beautiful, sunny, cool day and I walked up to his paddock and called his name. The grass was extra sweet yesterday, because it took him a little longer to break away and come over to the fence for a visit.

I gave him a few face rubs, a couple handfuls of grass from “the other side of the fence,” and then he went back to his grazing, while I took a few photos, a few of which are shown below.

The four below are from yesterday (Sunday), and the one at the top of the blog is from last year when he was at Nuckols Farm with 20 other geldings while his new paddock was being fenced in.

That photo is one of the best ones I ever took of him and was selected for the cover image of the 2015 Old Friends Calendar – my very first calendar cover photo – which I thought was very fitting since  Riva Way was the horse that originally brought me to Old Friends six years ago.

Hope you will enjoy the photos.

Wise Dan, two-time Horse of the Year, has been retired

He will go down as one of the greatest Thoroughbreds of all time.

Wise Day, two-time Horse of the Year, has been retired, according to an announcement by his trainer, Charlie LoPresti on Monday, Sept. 7, and in articles on BloodHorse.com on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 7 and 8.

Wise Dan's last race, and his last win, was in the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1T) on Oct. 14, 2014.

Wise Dan runs to victory in the 2014 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 14, 2014. As history will record, that win turned out to be the final win of his brilliant career. It was announced on Monday, Sept. 7, 2015, that the two-time Horse of the Year has been retired. (Photo by Wendy Wooley/EquiSportPhotos.com)

Then, while preparing for his next race, an injury was detected and he had been sidelined ever since.
Recently, as the injury healed, and the veterinarians gave the okay, LoPresti put the 8-year-old gelding back in training and was slowly working him towards a start in the Woodbine Mile, a race he had won twice on his way to Horse of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013.

The ultimate goal in his comeback was the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), a race he had won two times and which would be held at Keeneland, his home track, in October.

Over this past weekend, however, while giving the champion a bath, swelling was detected in his leg that was ultimately diagnosed as a tear on the outside edge of his tendon.

With nothing left to prove, it was decided to retire Wise Dan and not risk any further chance of an injury.

"He's been training lights out," said LoPresti in a BloodHorse.com article on Monday, Sept. 7. "But, we noticed some filling in his tendon this morning when we were giving him a bath. The vet suggested we scan it and it turns out he has a tear on the outside edge of his tendon.

"Mr. (Morton) Fink (owner) and I talked about it and we've all decided he should be retired at his age. There's no point trying to bring him back again. I expect he'll retire to our farm here in Kentucky. He'll be turned out with his brother Successful Dan."

Wise Dan, who is by Wiseman's Ferry-Lisa Danielle, by Wolf Power (SaF), ends his career with 23 wins, two seconds and $7,552, 920 in earnings in 31 career starts. That's a 74 percent winning average.

As for awards, he has many.

In 2012 he won Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year, Champion Grass Horse and Champion Older Horse. Then, in 2013, he was the repeat winner of all three of those Eclipse Awards.

In both years, he capped those two seasons with wins in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), which were both held at Santa Anita Park.

He also won numerous graded stakes races in his career. They included:
* 2010: the Phoenix Stakes (G3) at Keeneland.
* 2011: the Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs, the Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, and the Clark Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs.
* 2012: Ben Ali Stakes (G3) at Keeneland, Fourstardave Handicap (G2) at Saratoga, the Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1) at Woodbine, the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland, and the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Santa Anita.
* 2013: Maker's 41 Mile Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs, Firecracker Stakes (G2) at Churchill, Fourstardave Handicap (G2) at Saratoga, Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1) at Woodbine, and the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Santa Anita.
* 2014: Maker's 41 Mile Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs, the Bernard Baruch Handicap (G2) at Keeneland, and the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland.

Between the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and the Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga, Wise Dan suffered a bout of colic. He recovered well and went on to win the Bernard Baruch in his return race.

He then trained well and won the Shadwell Turf Mile before a leg injury sidelined him one again. Then, as noted previously, he recovered, and began to train again before another leg injury sidelined him and ended his career.

No question, Wise Dan is one of the great gelding Thoroughbreds of all time. Now the clock begins to tick to see when he will be enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga.

Personal Note

During Wise Dan's amazing racing career, I had hoped to get to see him race at least one time. I mean, he was always right down the street from me at Keeneland. He lived in LoPresti's barn right off Rice Road there, and some of his greatest wins were achieved at the track.

Still, because of my job, my schedule always blocked any chance I had of seeing him race.

Then, last year, on Oct. 4, 2014, I noted that Wise Dan was once again running in the Shadwell Turf Mile, but once again, my schedule interfered with going to the races that day.

For some reason though, I had a gut feeling this just might be my last chance to see him race, so I changed all my plans and headed to Keeneland to watch Wise Dan run.

I got a prime location in the stands, which turned out to be directly across from the starting gate for the race, and when the gates opened… Wise Dan stumbled a bit and ended up far behind the field.

My first thought, being very superstitious about these kinds of things, was: "Oh great. I finally get to see Wise Dan run and I cause him to stumble."

But, then, Wise Dan did what he always did. He dug down deep like the champion he is, and caught up to the field by the middle of the first turn.

From there, and all the way down the backstretch, he began to pick off horses one at a time, and by the far turn, his jockey, Hall of Famer John Velazquez, had him in position to make a charge for the front.

And, oh wow, what a charge it was. Coming from seventh place around the turn, he ran wide into the stretch, charged down the lane, finally caught up to the race leaders close to the wire, and then won it by a length over Grand Arch and Sayaad at the wire.

Wow! Wow! Wow! That was all I could think after seeing such a great race run by a great champion. I was so glad I had ditched all my plans and came to the races.

For sure, it was another great win for Wise Dan. But, who knew then, it would be the final time anyone would see this great horse run in a race.

As we all know now, that was Wise Dan's final race. I am sad to see his career come to an end because I believe he still had a lot of good races in him.

Having said that, I am also very glad he has an owner in Morton Fink and a trainer in Charles LoPresti that put the health and welfare of their horse first and let him retire a champion and in good health.

For me personally, I am so very glad I took the day off and got to go see him run. It's something I will never forget. From last to first, a great comeback, and a great win right into the history books.

Funny side story

My friend, Steve Blake and I, travelled to Saratoga last August, 2014. I had a book signing at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga (self-promotion here) for my book, "History of Old Friends: A Home for Retired Thoroughbreds."

It was my first trip to Saratoga and I wanted to see as much as I could.

One of the first things we did was head to the backside and had some breakfast at the concession stand. Then, after that, I wanted to see if I could find Wise Dan.

While I did that, Steve, who is a great photographer (see his work at multiexposures.com), wandered over to the track and started taking photos.

Now, a couple of things you should know about Steve. He is a retired Lexington fire fighter and fire chief. He knows nothing about horse racing, yet he currently works as an EMS person and is one of the folks that drives the ambulance around the Keeneland track behind the horses during races.

So, while I began my search for Wise Dan, Steve took photos of some of the horses working out on the track.

Well, I never did find Wise Dan's barn, but in the end, Steve and I had a great day enjoying the track, the races, our lunch, the Hall of Fame, and a lot of other things we managed to do that day.

A few days later after I got home, I decided to check out Steve's photos that he took at Saratoga. I went to his website, opened his folder with his Saratoga photos and… just started laughing my head off.

One of the first photos he took while I was out wandering around looking for Wise Dan in his barn were of– you guessed it – Wise Dan jogging out on the track on that beautiful, sunny Saratoga morning. Now how funny is that?!?

Here is one of the photos he took that day.

Wise Dan out for a jog on a beautiful, sunny morning at Saratoga in Aug. 2014. (Photo by Steve Blake/MultiExposures.com) --- (For more of Steve's photos at Saratoga, go to the Equine folder and then look for the Saratoga folder.)

Rachel's Valentina scores Grade 1 win in Spinaway Stakes

Running in only her second career race, Rachel's Valentina, under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, scored big time, as she took the lead near the sixteenth-pole and went on to a one-length victory over Tap to It in the $350,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015.

Rachel's Valentina, the daughter of Rachel Alexandra, put in an impressive performance under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, to capture the $350,000 Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. (Photo by Coglianese Photos)

Finishing third in the six-horse race for 2-year-olds was Constellation.

"Today, she knew what it was all about," said Velazquez. "She was on the bridle, and she knew what she was supposed to do. I didn't have to do anything down the lane, just keep her mind on running, and she got it done. She's one of those horses that the farther she goes, the better she gets. Before she ran I thought three-quarters might be a little too short and she still got up there. She's pretty good."

Added winning trainer Todd Pletcher, "I thought she ran fantastic. Actually, she put herself into the race a little more than I thought she would, but she seemed to be handling tracking those horses well, and getting a little dirt well. I felt like turning for home, knowing her style and watching her train, that she was going to keep coming. I've always felt like the farther she goes, the better she gets."

Rachel's Velanetina has a big following, as she is the daughter of Rachel Alexandra, who's legacy was cemented at Saratoga with her courageous win over the boys in the 2009 Woodward Stakes (G1).

Rachel's Valentina, who's full pedigree is Bernardini-Rachel Alexandra, by Medaglia d'Oro, ran the seven-furlong race on a dirt track rated Fast in 1:23.10.

Owned by Stonestreet Stables, Rachel's Valentina now has two wins in two career starts and $259,800 in earnings.

The Spinaway was also a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" race, which gives the filly an automatic berth into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) race. The Breeders' Cup will be held at Keeneland on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31.

Rounding out the order of finish in the race was Anna Rae fourth, followed by Tonasah and Banree.

(Information provided by EquiBase.com, BloodHorse.com, and Brisnet.com)

Liam's Map cruises to Woodford Stakes victory

He made it look easy.

Liam's Map, ridden by jockey Javier Castellano, took the lead out of the gate and then went wire-to-wire to win the $600,000 Woodward Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, by 4-3/4 lengths over second-place finisher Coach Inge. 

Liam's Map, with jockey Javier Castellano riding, went gate-to-wire to win the $600,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015. (Photo by Coglianese Photos)

Finishing third in the eight-horse race for 3-year-olds and up was Wicked Strong.

The victory for 4-year-old Liam's Map was the first Grade 1 win in his career and helped make up for his very tough loss in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 8; a race in which he also led from the start, but lost at the finish to Honor Code.

"The Whitney was as tough a loss as you'll experience," said Todd Pletcher, Liam's Map's trainer. "He ran an unbelievable race that day and everything he indicated to us from that time until today was that he was ready to come back over and put forth another big effort. I'm just happy to see him get that Grade 1 that he deserves so much."

Liam's Map, who is by Unbridled's Song-Miss Macy Sue, by Trippi, ran the 1-1/8th-mile race on a track rate Fast I 1:47.44.

The win continued the successful Saratoga meet for Castellano, who has been on a roll lately and is ranked second in the jockey standings at the track this year.

Castellano also rode Honor Code to victory in the Whitney Stakes (G1), and also rode Keen Ice to the upset win over American Pharoah in the Travers Stakes (G1) last week. He also won the Alabama Stakes (G1) aboard Embellish the Lace as well. In fact, he is the first jockey ever to win the Whitney, Woodward, Travers and Alabama in the same Saratoga meet.

"I'm very lucky and very fortunate to be in that spot," said Castellano. "I expected to have a great meet, but I think I was in the right place at the right time and everything fell into place. I had a lot of support; from owners and trainers and my agent."

Owned by Teresa Viola Racing Stables, Liam's Map now has five wins, two seconds and $808,940 in earnings in seven career starts.

Pletcher also trained second-place finisher Coach Inge for owner Mike Repole, and was pleased with that horse's run in the race as well.

"I'll tell you, Coach Inge ran unbelievable," said Pletcher. "It was a super, super effort. Good enough to win a lot of Woodwards."

Rounding out the field was Wicked Strong in third, followed by Effinex, Mylute, Bay of Plenty, Commanding Curve and Protonico.

There were also three other stakes races on Saturday at Saratoga. Here are the winners.

* Saranac Stakes (G3): World Approval

* Spinaway Stakes (G1): Rachel's Valentina (see story)

* Glen Falls Stakes (G3): White Rose

(Information provided by EquiBase.com, BloodHorse.com, and Brisnet.com)

Love Love Me Do finishes fifth at Belterra

After winning in her last outing at Belterra Park on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015, Love Love Me Do tried to stretch out from six furlongs on dirt to a mile on the turf on Saturday, Aug. 29, and finished in fifth place in the eight horse field under her regular rider, Yuri Yuranga.

Love Love Me Do, who won her last outing on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015 at Belterra Park, tried to stretch out to one-mile on the turf on Saturday, Aug. 29, and finished in fifth-place under her regular rider, Yuri Yuranga. (File photo by Tim Wilson)

Winning the race was Ange Grise, with Longcoldwinter second, Lastofthe Moniqns third, Sunday Look fourth, Misery's Joke sixth, Lil Watt seventh and Gladis True Love eighth.

Ange Gris, who is by Leroidesanimaux (Brz)-Matiere Grise (Fr), y Kaldouneves (Fr), ran the one-mile turf race on a track rated Firm in 1:36.19. She now has three wins, 13 seconds, seven thirds and $83,036 in earnings in 42 career starts.

In the race, according to the Equibase.com race chart, "Love Love Me Do was well placed in mid-pack, ran evenly with no rally;" meaning she broke from gate six, settled into fourth place, then fell to fifth place and stayed there till the finish line.

Love Love Me Do, who is by Birdstone-Belle Chante, by War Chant, currently has one win, two seconds and $6,385 in earnings in nine career starts.

She is owned by Dr. Bryan Waldridge, who is the equine vet at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Ky., and trained by Tim Wilson, the farm manager at Old Friends.

(Information provided by EquiBase.com and Brisnet.com)

Keen Ice upsets American Pharaoh in Travers Stakes

Saratoga, "The Graveyard of Champions" claimed its newest victim on Saturday, Aug. 29, in the 146th running of the $1.6 million Travers Stakes, as Keen Ice, with jockey Javier Castellano riding, caught overwhelming 1-to-5 race-favorite American Pharoah in mid-stretch and went on to a three-quarter length victory in the race. Finishing third was Frosted.

Keen Ice, with jockey Javier Castellano, overtook Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in mid-stretch and went on to win the 146th running of the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, April 29. (Photo by Jessie Holmes / EquiSportPhotos.com)

 "I thought from the early fractions they might be going a little slow, but you can't really tell from the times always. It's how they're doing it," said winning trainer Dale Romans. "So watching my horse, they looked like they were really running and they were working, and I could see my horse was getting through on the inside, like we needed to be, and we got the tip-out at the right point. Then he switched to his right lead and had dead aim on them. And he just wore 'em down."

As to what his horse's win might mean to American Pharoah's legacy, Romans graciously said, "American Pharoah's legacy is not tarnished in any way. Secretariat got beat, Seattle Slew got beat, Affirmed got beat. They [the owners and Bob Baffert] are great sportsmen for keeping him running and taking a chance with him. He has run very hard all year and he ran a very good race today. He was pressed, [Frosted] took it to him, and we were fortunate to be running behind."

Ever gracious himself, even in defeat, Baffert said, "I want to congratulate the connections of Keen Ice for a great win."

He then went on to share his thoughts about his horse's run in "The Mid-Summer Classic"…

"I think Pharoah, down the backside, he was struggling a little bit," said Baffert. "I could tell by Victor's body language that he didn't have the power that he usually has. What we saw the last three-eights was just guts. After he finally shook Frosted off, I thought that maybe there's a chance. You could tell he was empty. He just fought back valiantly, but it wasn’t his day today. You really don't know. We gambled; we brought him up here. He showed us all the signs that he was ready to go. You really don't know until they actually run."

Keen Ice, who is by Curlin-Medomak, by Awesome Again, ran the 1-1/4 mile dirt race on a track rated Fast n 2:01.57.

In the race, American Pharoah, with jockey Victor Espinoza riding, broke cleanly from gate two and charged to the lead by the first turn. Right on his outside was Frosted, ridden by Javier Castellano, who planted himself in that spot and then pressured the Triple Crown champion with every stride they took.

Side-by-side, the two horses battled all the way around the track, and slowly, it appeared, Frosted's relentless pursuit began to have an effect on American Pharoah as they entered the final turn.

Some would say Frosted's connections planned to race this way in hopes that, if they pressured American Pharoah, after all of his travel and Triple Crown races, he would finally tire and then their horse could go on and get the win.

Others, however, might say that Frosted was sent out as a rabbit to tire American Pharoah so that some horse, any horse, would beat him in this day.

Either way, the plan worked, because, as the horses neared the end of the final turn, Frosted took a slight lead. But, American Pharoah, champion that he is, battled back fiercely and retook the lead in the upper stretch.

But, clearly, the battle between the two horses had taken its toll on American Pharoah.

Meanwhile, Keen Ice, who went off at 16-to-1, had broken cleanly, but then moved five-wide before heading into the first turn. He then slid over into the two-path about mid-pack for most of the race.

At the quarter pole, Keen Ice moved between horses near the half-mile pole, and then continued along between horses until the three-eighths pole.

Castellano shifted Keen Ice to the outside near the quarter pole, and then waited till his horse switched leads. Once he did that, Castellano used a right-handed whip near the eighth pole to really get his horse going.

At the sixteenth-pole, with American Pharoah tiring, but still ahead of Frosted, Keen Ice caught up to the champion, then passed him and, while American Pharoah tried to catch up, Keen Ice crossed the wire a three-quarter length winner.

Frosted was third in the 10-horse race for 3-year-olds by 2-1/4 lengths, followed by Upstart, Texas Red, Frammento, Smart Transition, Tale of Verve, Mid Ocean and King of New York.

"That's horse racing," said a very happy Castellano. "Anything can happen in horse racing, that's what makes this a great game. American Pharoah is a great horse, taking nothing away from him. Turning for home, at the three-eighths pole, I saw those two horses head-to-head and I said, 'That's a good sign.' When I saw the quarter-pole, I was getting closer to him, and I didn't see him take off. I saw those two horses backing up to me really quick and that's when I thought I had it. When my horse kept getting closer and closer, I started getting more and more excited and thought, 'This is it. It's going to be my fifth Travers.' And here I am."

After the race, Espinoza talked a little about his ride aboard American Pharoah, who he said just didn't seem right on this day.

"He was not the same like when I've always been riding before," he said. "When he went to the gate, I noticed he was sweating a little bit and he never had even a tiny bit of sweat before. Today, he was a little bit sweaty.

"Once I broke, I put him right on the lead and the pace was not too fast; it was good," he continued. "I felt like from the five-eighths pole, his energy level was not the same as it was before. He was not as strong as I'm used to. He got around there but not quick enough.

"Turning for home, he was still trying so hard and I opened up two, three lengths, but I felt like it was not quick enough to get to the wire with the other horse coming on the outside."

Owned by Donegal Racing, Keen Ice came into the race with only one win. He now has two wins, one second, three thirds and $1,490,395 in 11 career starts.

As for American Pharoah's future, according to a Sunday, Aug. 30 article on BloodHorse.com, owner Ahmed Zayat might have stunned the racing-world when he said, "So my gut's saying, if the horse showed me that he tailed off, he's not the Pharoah I know, then there's no question in my mind that the right thing to do is to retire him."

In the same article, Baffert was also non-committal about his horse future, saying, "I don't know. I wanted to see how taxing this race was on him. This is something we have to sit and figure out. I'm not really used to being in the position with him, so it's sort of hard to digest right now."

The original plan was to have American Pharoah next run in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31, and then have him retire to stud at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky. Now, we'll all have to wait and see.

American Pharoah fell victim to "The Graveyard of Champions" – Saratoga – on Saturday, Aug. 29, when he lost to Keen Ice in the Travers Stakes. (Photo by Jessie Holmes / EquiSportPhotos.com)

 A bit of history to end this article…

Two other horses tried to pull off the Triple Crown-Travers sweep, but failed. In 1930, a 100-to-1 long shot, Jim Dandy, beat Gallant Fox, and in 1978, Affirmed won the race, but then was disqualified to second for interfering with his long-time rival, Alydar, who was moved up for the win.

One horse that did complete the sweep was Whrilaway, who did it in 1941.

As for horses that have lost at Saratoga, which helped give the track its legacy as "The Grave Yard of Champions" …

1919: The greatest Thoroughbred of all time, Man o'War lost to a horse named Upset as a 2-year-old in the Sanford Memorial Stakes. It was the only loss in Man O'War's career. (At the time, there was no starting gate. Only a webbed barrier where the horses waited for the start. When they gave the signal to start, Man O'War's back was to the field, and by the time he had turned to start running, the field had a nice head start. Still, he came back to finish second.)

1930: As previously mentioned, Jim Dandy defeated Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox in the Travers Stakes.

1973: Secretariat was upset in the Whitney Stakes that year by a horse named Onion.

In addition to the Travers Stakes, there were six other stakes races on the card on Saturday; five of them Grade 1s. Here are the winners of those races:

* Personal Ensign Stakes (G1): Sheer Drama

* Ballerina Stakes (G1): Unbridled Forever

* King's Bishop Stakes (G1): Runhappy

* Forego Stakes (G1); Private Zone

* Sword Dancer Invitational (G1): Flintshire (GB) (A very impressive win)

* Ballston Stake (G2): Dacita (Chi)

(Information gathered from EquiBase.com, BloodHorse.com, NYRA.com, PedigreeQuery.com. Also, Secretariat.com, for info on a few horses that lost at Saratoga.)