By Carl Wilson
It is hard to believe for this writer that almost three years have gone by since the countdown to American Pharoah’s 2015 Kentucky Derby. Since then we have had the likes of Beholder, California Chrome, Arrogate, Songbird and Gun Runner grace us with their wonderful presence. But there was, and only ever will be, one American Pharoah.
In a powerhouse performance on Halloween 2015, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah spectacularly bowed out from the amazing show he had put on for racing fans the world over. In the process of running his rivals ragged in the Breeders Cup Classic he earned a worthy 120 Beyer speed figure. A number that he could easily have surely earned several times before, if he had ever been asked.
A major part of Bob Baffert and Victor Espinoza’s smart management of their superstar that year included the preservation policy of never doing much more than necessary to win his previous races. (Anyone who watched the Haskell at Monmouth Park saw the most obvious example of that.) While this was a wise long term plan that paid off, it also meant that the “numbers boys” were regularly disappointed with the “not too shabby but not superstar” Beyer speed figures American Pharoah’s victories produced. The trolls’, knockers’ and doubters’ fires were thus fueled.
Personally I felt early on that American Pharoah was probably one of the greatest horses I had ever seen, but not because of his race results. Or his Beyer speed figures of course. I was confident he had plenty more in reserve and was far better than those numbers showed.
I didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to get the idea that this horse might be extra special. Rather than waiting to break his duck in a Maiden allowance, Bob Baffert chose to go directly to a Grade 1 contest with him as a maiden two year old. American Pharoah won that 2014 Del Mar Futurity with facile authority, but what continued to feed me the sense that I was observing a highly unusual creature was the way he carried and used his rare and spectacular mechanical equine frame. That awesome stride. That balance. That way he simply floated across the ground. All surrounded and complemented by an extremely generous, kind and intelligent puppy dog demeanor. And of course – a ton of Heart.
We have heard plenty of horses hyped by their connections over the years. But when Bob Baffert, who has trained more Grade 1 Stakes horses than most trainers on the planet, made statements early on that he had “never had one like this before” they were made in a manner that seemed more sincere and heartfelt than that stallion building rhetoric often spouted by the connections of many good, but not great, racehorses.
Convinced that we were just seeing the tip of the American Pharoah iceberg, I marked up and factored in 10 or more extra Beyer points for the ease of several of his wins. Even his Breeders Cup Classic winning Beyer figure of 120 could no doubt have been higher if the champ had been pressured late. As a stronger and more mature four or five year old, potentially record breaking Beyers north of 125-130 could surely have been achieved.
Sadly we never saw that happen. You were retired from racing at just three years old Pharoah. Like many, I rue an economic situation in thoroughbred racing that dictates that stars like you can earn far more in the breeding shed than they can on the racetrack. I am disappointed that you were gone from our racetracks so soon Champ. I am disappointed that we never got the chance to see you carry all before you and become an even bigger legend as a four and five year old.
But three years on, I remain hugely grateful for what you achieved, and for what you did for our amazing and beautiful sport.
Thank you for explaining to a lot of people who didn’t previously “get it” why so many of us do “get it.”
Thank you for showing and shouting from the rooftops exactly why so many of us are passionate about horse racing, for reasons far above and beyond anything to do with a betting window.
Thank you for illustrating how for many of us, horse racing has so often personified and paralleled the ups and downs, the hopes and fears, the emotions, twists and turns that run through the journeys of our lives.
Your presence was a journey of hopes and dreams. Of belief, faith, romance and love. Of endeavor, achievement, satisfaction and happiness.
Thank You, American Pharoah.