BELMONT, New York, (Reuters) – Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert could hardly contain his elation over the final workout by Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah before today’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.
“He looked like a monster out there,” Baffert told reporters after the colt’s gallop on Friday at Belmont Park. “I am really happy with the way he went. He’s still sharp.”
American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, will take on seven rivals as he looks to become just the 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1978.
The exhausting mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes is dubbed “Test of the Champion” because it is the longest of the three classic U.S. races and the final one.
Baffert knows the heartbreak, having saddled Triple Crown contenders Real Quiet, Silver Charm and War Emblem, only to come up short each time at Belmont Park — in Real Quiet’s case by mere inches.
American Pharoah, riding a six-race winning streak, won the May 2 Kentucky Derby by a length and two weeks later captured the Preakness Stakes in a runaway, winning by seven lengths in a driving rainstorm.
Baffert, who has saddled four Kentucky Derby winners, six Preakness champions and one Belmont Stakes winner, described Friday’s workout as “the last hurdle” in American Pharoah’s Triple regimen.
“All the work is done now,” he said. “From here on, we’ll try to relax a little. We need to make sure the horse is content and continues to eat well, and to stick to the same routine.
“And now we need to keep people away from him.”
American Pharoah’s credentials make him the race favourite, but that may not mean much. He is the only horse to have run in the Derby and Preakness and it is hard to ignore recent history.
A combined 14 horses have run in all three legs of the Triple Crown since 2006 and all of them, including six favourites, lost the Belmont Stakes.
Possible fatigue by American Pharoah could open the door for horses like the Todd Pletcher-trained Florida Derby champion Materiality or Wood Memorial winner Frosted, ridden by Joel Rosario and trained by Kiaran McLaughlin.
