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).
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| 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)
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