American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) returned to the track Friday morning for the first time since becoming the first horse in 37 years to complete the Triple Crown, jogging over the Churchill main track with Jorge Alvarez in the saddle.
“He went great,” Alvarez said. “He still feels the same. It's amazing how this horse does it.”
Also in attendance were trainer Bob Baffert, who liked what he saw. “It's amazing what he's been through and it looks like he's starting to get even better now,” Baffert said. “I can tell that during the past 60 days he's grown and is starting to fill out. I'm just happy to see that he's still happy an enjoying what he's doing. He's just an incredible animal. I guess you have to be incredible to do what he has accomplished.”
Baffert spoke about what the future might hold for the Zayat homebred and admits he's feeling the heat.
“My goal is to bring him back to Kentucky and I'm sure you all want to see him run in the [Oct. 31] [GI] Breeders' Cup [Classic],” Baffert said. “I just want to keep him on that level. There are some obvious spots. You got the Haskell, the Jim Dandy, Saratoga, Del Mar. I don't want to get ahead of myself but I've talked to [racing manager] Justin Zayat; they have their ideas and I have my ideas so we're basically just going to sit down and I have to see how this horse responds. Sometimes it takes as much as two weeks to see what kind of affect a race has on him. If you see him show up, then he's really going to perform in a big way.
He continued, “To me, I feel more pressure training him now. I feel like wrapping him in bubble wrap. What I want to do is just want to share him with everyone. When we go back to California they'll probably have something for him there and then when we go to Del Mar, they'll have something for him there. I wish I was around Secretariat. As a kid, I would have loved to pet him and touch him and get close to him. I got to go up to him and touch him and I'll always remember greatness like that. I'm his trainer but at the same time I'm like a little kid. I knew he was great but he really had to show it.”
Later Friday morning, the Baffert barn was paid a visit by Dr. William McGee, one of the founders of the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, who has seen and treated many of the previous 11 Triple Crown winners.
“I think his temperament is outstanding,” McGee commented, referring to American Pharoah. “I've never seen one that had the calm attitude that he had. He's a people's kind of horse. A lot of people think that the Triple Crown should be broken up, but it's a supreme test of ability and endurance. He's come a long so well and I attribute a lot to the handling he's gotten. He takes good care of him and they've given him rest when he needed him. I'm looking for [him to have] a great stud career, too.”
American Pharoah will be paraded during Saturday's 'Downs After Dark' program at approximately 8 p.m. EDT. Owner/breeder Ahmed Zayat and his family, Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza will be on hand to accept their engraved Kentucky Derby trophies immediately following race six at 8:32 p.m. ET.
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