Pharoah Exits Arkansas Derby Romp Well

Zayat homebred American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) has exited his romp in Saturday’s GI Arkansas Derby in fine form, according to his connections. The Bob Baffert trainee walked the shedrow Sunday and is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs, where he’ll be among the favorites for the GI Kentucky Derby May 2. 

“I was ecstatic,” Baffert said Sunday morning. “I liked the way he shut it down. We thought he might be able to do that, but you don’t know until you actually do it in a race, because the adrenaline’s going through and everything else.”

 “He got bumped leaving there a bit, and sometimes that gets them all charged up,” Baffert continued. “But he was just so professional. I couldn’t have been happier the way it turned out. He got some things his own way, but it was good he showed he was not one dimensional; that’s a big plus.” 

Winning pilot Victor Espinoza said: “I was very confident in American Pharoah. This was the first time I rode him that he was behind another horse, but I just went by him like he was standing still. Into the stretch, it didn’t feel like I was going that fast, and I was excited. I wanted to let him run a little, but I looked back and I was so far in front, I slowed him down a little bit. He did it all on his own, basically. Bob Baffert didn’t want me to win by that many lengths, but sometimes you can’t help it. I know it’s only three weeks until the Kentucky Derby and you want to save as much as you can for that race, but with a horse like him, he does things so easy, it was all I could do.” 

Runner-up Far Right (Notional) will also be heading to Louisville, according to trainer Ron Moquett. 

“[Jockey Mike Smith] said he was saving us some for the next one,” the trainer commented. “He said it didn’t matter if we were second by five or second by eight. He said he was trying to save some for the next one when things may work more in our direction.”