American Pharoah Wins Breeders' Cup Classic

American Pharoah Wins Breeders’ Cup Classic, Wins First Ever Grand Slam

By: Claudia L. Ruiz

Following his Travers Stakes defeat, American Pharoah returned to racing’s stage with a vengeance in the 31st rendition of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The first horse in 37-years to capture a Triple Crown, his accomplishments are nothing short of phenomenal. On Saturday, October 31st, American Pharoah made his final career start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic — the fourth leg of racing’s Grand Slam — and, he did not disappoint. Breaking sharply out of the gate, the son of Pioneerof the Nile took the lead and never looked back.

Effinex, piloted by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, stalked the pace around the track, but could not catch American Pharoah. The 3-year-old colt, owned by Zayat Stables, put up fractions of 23.99, 47.50, 1:11.21, and 1:35.47. Breaking away from the field with easy speed, Pharoah charged down the stretch to win by an open 6 ½ lengths, stopping the clock at 2:00.07 — a new track record for the 1 ¼-mile at Keeneland. His noteworthy performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic later received a 118 Beyer speed figure.

“I am so proud of this horse,” expressed a relieved Bob Baffert. “When I saddled him, I could tell that he was full of himself. I told Victor to just ride him. When you have a good horse like this, you want it all to go right. I am so proud of him… and I am so glad that he goes out the champion he is.”

During the press conference a member of the media addressed Bob Baffert, saying, “The other day, you said, ‘this horse lifts my spirits.’ You sounded rather philosophical. I want you to talk for a moment about American Pharoah, not as a horse but as an individual.” Baffert responded, “He ships. He flies. He goes everywhere. There’s no excuse. He just goes and he shows up. That’s an incredible individual. Just to be close to him or in the same sentence as him… as a horse trainer, it makes me feel like when people come up to me, I can’t judge how great he is. His mechanics are totally different from any horse I’ve ever had. He’s incredible.”

Over the last year, we’ve had the pleasure of getting to see Bob Baffert in a different light; one that is warmer and much more humble than that of past years. “It was just very emotional,” Baffert said of the win. “It’s been a privilege to watch him train. It’s been a privilege to watch him breeze. Jimmy Barnes, Giorgio, Martin Garcia… there are so many people involved. He gave everyone what they came to see today. That’s what horse racing is all about.”

Three-time Kentucky Derby winning jockey Victor Espinoza has been in the limelight since 2014 when he piloted California Chrome to some major victories, including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. The attention may have faded for the first few months of 2015, but cameras quickly turned back on him when American Pharoah returned in March with a dominant performance in the Gr. 2 Rebel at Oaklawn Park.

So how does Espinoza rank Pharoah’s Breeders’ Cup Classic performance among his Triple Crown victories? The 43-year-old jockey explained, “It was like all three Triple Crown races. He bounced out of there. On the backside, he kind of slowed down a little. I decided to move him just maybe one or two lengths out, as soon as I moved him from that spot, he re-accelerated. I was just like, wow! Turning for home, I wasn’t worried about it. I was gone.”

“It’s been a crazy last couple years,” Espinoza later told EverythingEQ. “Some jockeys chase this their whole lives — I feel very lucky to have experienced it.”

The race panned out differently for Frosted, the son of Tapit who ran fourth to Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby, second to him in the Belmont and third (following an early speed duel with the triple crown winner) in the Travers Stakes. While his connections believed he was possibly sitting on his best performance to date, despite modest early fractions, the 3-year-old failed to fire, finishing seventh and second to last.

“He flattened out late,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “Thought we could have finished second or third, not sixth or seventh. Very disappointing.”

Regular jockey Joel Rosario did not have any complaints about the trip. “He went real nice. The pace seemed honest, but American Pharoah just kept going.”

Effinex was the only horse to get close to the Grand Slam winner, finishing 6 ½-lengths behind him in second.

“Once we hit the 3/8 pole, I thought, ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic. Maybe we can hang on for second.’ Passing the 3/8 pole we really picked it up, but the real guy (American Pharoah) showed up today,” explained an excited Mike Smith. “I’m really proud of [Effinex], he ran a big race today,” Smith shared with EverythingEQ. “He may have finished second, but that’s a big deal in the Breeders’ Cup. Not a bad $900,000 either.”

Third place finisher Honor Code attempted to close late, but the pace didn’t quite set up for the 4-year-old son of A.P. Indy. “He was the only one to close,” trainer Shug McGaughey told the media. “Those two ran 1-2 all the way around. Everybody was riding to be safe; they were riding to be second. As a trainer, he’s the first Triple Crown winner I’ve ever seen and I think he was a very deserving Triple Crown winner,” McGaughey added of American Pharoah. “To see him come back to run the way he did today against this field of horses, he’s a very good horse.”

Javier Castellano, who piloted Honor Code, believed his horse ran the best race given the circumstances. “Beholder and Smooth Roller scratching didn’t help my situation,” he said. “Unfortuantely, the way the race unfolded, there was no pace at all. He made a strong and powerful move, but when I got to the stretch [American Pharoah and Effinex] had run off already. I think he is very deserving of the Older Horse Eclipse Award,” he added of Honor Code’s 2015 efforts, which include huge wins in the Gulfstream Park H., Metropolitan H. and Whitney S.

Sunday morning the Zayats, along with Bob Baffert and Jimmy Barnes, welcomed the media and fans to visit American Pharoah one last time before going off to stud. Over one-hundred people showed up and were able to greet the connections, ask questions, get pictures and say farewell to the champion.

“He is the most brilliant horse I have ever seen,” Ahmed Zayat told reporters. “We are so appreciative to have him and we owe American Pharoah everything. He is a once-in-a-lifetime horse. He runs with his heart. We wanted him to go out a winner. I didn’t even see the final eighth (of a mile) because I had my eyes closed the whole time. It was an incredible thrill… so emotional.”

American Pharoah arrived at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud on Monday morning, November 2nd, and was greeted by a large welcome party. The son of Pioneerof the Nile retires as the first Grand Slam winner in racing’s history. His record, a resume of lavish wins, stands 11-9-1-0 with career earnings topping out at $8,650,300. His combined winning margin since debuting back in August of 2014 totals 44 ½-lengths. His estimated stud fee for 2016 — a whopping $200,000.

Payouts and Order of Finish:
American Pharoah —— $3.40 win, $3.00 place, $2.40 show
Effinex —————————- $14.20 place, $6.60 show
Honor Code ———————————— $3.40 show
4-Keen Ice
5-Tonalist
6-Hard Aces
7-Frosted
8-Gleneagles (IRE)

$2 Exacta → $76.40
$2 Trifecta → $322.60
$2 Superfecta → $1,224.00
$1 Super High Five → $1,715.10

American Pharoah Wins Breeders’ Cup Classic. Watch the replay: