Pharoah ‘Looks Good’ After Preakness

Zayat Stable’s American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), who annexed his second jewel of the Triple Crown Saturday in the GI Xpressbet.com Preakness S., appears to have exited his muddy romp in fine form, according to Hall of Fame conditioner Bob Baffert. 

“He’s a little quiet,” Baffert noted. “He’s a little tired, like he’s supposed to be after a race. That’s usually him. Health-wise he looks good. No changes. No surprises. He was more tired after the Derby. In the Derby he was blowing pretty hard, he was pretty hot. It was taxing on him. But he hadn’t had a hard race. He got a hard race and [Saturday jockey Victor Espinoza] let him run. He’s hard to gauge because he’s so quiet. He’s not going to come out here jumping around. He’s very mellow. He’s a very intelligent horse. If I take the ear plugs out he’ll jump around.”

 Baffert has returned to Belmont in the same position three times previously, with Silver Charm in 1997, Real Quiet in 1998 and War Emblem in 2002. 

“It’s slowly starting to sink in,” he stated. “I can’t believe that I’ve done this four times, that I’ve got a fourth time to do it. How lucky I’ve been with all the horses I’ve brought here. It usually takes a little while to sink in that we’re on this journey. For me, New York, I’ve already been through all that. I know what to expect going in there. I know it’s a little hectic. I don’t want to take him up there unless he’s really doing well. I can tell. If I put him on that plane, that means he’s doing really, really well.” 

Baffert continued, “It’s hard for me to imagine that I’m going through this again, with a horse like this that just makes my job a lot easier. All I can do is rely on my experience of going to the next one and what to do with him. I learn something about him every time I run him. He’s still a really lightly raced horse. Things that he likes and what he doesn’t like. He does have a good appetite. I’ll just keep him eating and hopefully try to keep that weight maintained.” 

The trainer explained that American Pharoah will return to Churchill Downs Monday and will most likely ship to Belmont June 3. 

“We’ll take him back [to Churchill] and give him a light week, just let him get his feet under him a little bit and let him relax,” Baffert said. “It’s like going to the spa for a week. Let him lie down all day and relax, eat and try to get his weight back on him. He’s a pretty fit horse. He doesn’t need a lot. As long as he keeps moving like he does on the track. When he got here you could tell. He was wanting to do something, ready to do something. 

“I liked the way he acted. He was really quiet and relaxed in the paddock. He didn’t use himself up. In Kentucky he had a meltdown. They got him stirred up. The Belmont is not that. The paddock scene won’t be like that.” 

Baffert noted that ‘TDN Rising Star’ Dortmund (Big Brown), who finished fourth in the Preakness, will get a needed break. 
“I’m going to get him back,” Baffert said of the Kaleem Shah colorbearer. “I think he could maybe use a break. He’s getting a little light. I knew he was going to have trouble in the mud. He’s had a pretty tough campaign.” 

What They’re Saying the Morning After 

GI Xpressbet S. Preakness longshot runner-up Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) looked to be doing well Sunday morning. 
“He looked good,” trainer Dallas Stewart offered. “We got him out and gave him a couple of turns [around the shed row] and grazed him. He’s going to go to Belmont [Monday]. We’re looking forward to getting it done next time. We think this horse will love a mile and a half.” 

Divining Rod (Tapit), who completed the Preakness trifecta, shipped back to his base at Fair Hill Training Center after the race. 

“I was very happy with that,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said. “At the quarter pole, it looked like he would be able to try and come by American Pharoah. Obviously, American Pharoah is a special horse, so there is no shame in finishing a little bit behind those horses. As far as the future with him, I’m not quite sure. We’ll see how he comes back. I don’t think he wants to go a mile and a half anyway, so I’m not considering the Belmont S. There will be plenty of other nice races in the summer for him.” 

Sixth-place finisher Danzig Moon (Malibu Moon) exited the race with a decent amount of dirt in this throat, according to trainer Mark Casse. The Ontario-bred colt, who was coughing after the race, will regroup and aim for the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine July. 

“He seems fine,” Casse commented. “There were a lot of horses coughing in the stakes barn after the race. We scoped him and the vet said he had half the race track in his throat.”

 Although Danzig Moon will skip the GI Belmont S., Casse plans on sending out stablemate Conquest Curlinate (Curlin) for the 1 1/2-mile test. 

Kentucky Derby runner-up Firing Line (Line of David) stumbled at the start of the Preakness and never factored, finishing seventh. Carlos Santamaria, assistant to trainer Simon Callaghan, said that the Zetcher colorbearer exited the sloppy affair in fine form. 

“At the break, after the stumble, he was pretty much done. He wasn’t comfortable on the track,” Santamaria said. “There was nothing we could do about it, weather-wise. I’m not disappointed in him. I’m pretty sure he would have run his race if the track was good. If you look at him today, he looks terrific. He’s happy. It just wasn’t his day. He’ll be back.”

Despite being eased, eighth-place finisher Bodhisattva (Student Council) looked well the morning after the Preakness. 
“He’s doing good,” said owner/trainer Jose Corrales. “[Jockey] Trevor [McCarthy] said as soon as he stepped out of the gate he had nothing. He just gave up the whole thing completely. I had trained him once on a wet track and he didn’t like it. I thought he got hurt or something, but nothing happened. I wish he could have run his race in the Preakness. We had a great week except for the race. That was disappointing, but it’s just racing. What can you do? Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t. American Pharoah is a great horse.”