56°F
weather icon Clear

No surprise: American Pharoah’s retirement not furlong

I start today’s column with this horse racing news: “American Pharoah is STILL racing!”

I’m going to keep saying this for the next two months until his final start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

If you remember the first season of “Saturday Night Live,” you’ll know where this comes from. Comedian Chevy Chase used the catch phrase “Generalissimo Francisco Franco is STILL dead” during his “Weekend Update” segments.

What spurred this on is that his owner, Ahmed Zayat, in an emotional response after the loss at the Travers Stakes on Saturday, said he was considering retiring the horse.

Zayat, who wears his emotions on his sleeves, has been as open, honest and generous as an owner can be in horse racing. But the bitter pill of defeat got the better of him after the Travers.

Now Zayat has told the Daily Racing Form that American Pharoah “deserves the chance to be in the sport’s premier year-end event.”

He won’t get any argument here.

American Pharoah did not lose respect after the Travers; he gained it. He had a lot going against him, which I pointed out in last week’s column.

This was the first time he had been hooked from start to finish in a race. Frosted shadowed American Pharoah for nine furlongs. But the Travers’ distance is 10 furlongs.

When both horses accelerated after a slow first half-mile, they blistered a third and fourth quarters that left them both spent and vulnerable. Meanwhile, Keen Ice sat in a garden spot and passed the two tired warriors late.

The first thing we learn about horse racing history is this: All the great ones lose races. Secretariat, Affirmed, John Henry, Zenyatta — the list is endless. Obviously, they win much more than they lose, but they do lose.

A steady hand in all this has been Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He has tasted the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in horse racing. He understands that when things happen for a reason it’s best to take a step back and stay calm.

If American Pharoah came out of the Travers 100 percent healthy, albeit tired, then retirement would have been premature. This horse has more to give.

If Team AP decides to train American Pharoah up to the Classic, there is no better trainer to do that than Baffert. This horse does not need another prep race.

What he needs is time to recharge his batteries. He’ll need to, because the Travers will look like a picnic compared to what awaits him in the Classic.

The Travers is a restricted race to 3-year-old horses. The Classic is for all comers. It will look like WrestleMania in a steel cage match.

What potentially awaits American Pharoah at Keeneland are the likes of champion mare Beholder, older horses Honor Code, Liam’s Map and Tonalist, plus Travers graduates Keen Ice and Frosted. It will be a full field with few throw-out horses.

Two months is enough time to prepare the horse for his final career start. But most important, “American Pharoah is STILL racing!”

$10,000 TWIN QUINELLA — Station Casinos will offer a $10,000 Twin Quinella every Saturday in September. This is twice the normal amount. So if you like to bet a little to win a lot, then this is for you.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick.

 

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Irish War Cry due for good race, pick to win Belmont

With Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Preakness champion Cloud Computing skipping the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, the Triple Crown races will produce three different winners for the second consecutive year.

This weekend is filled with festival-style horse racing

Today the trend is for racetracks to cluster their stakes in a festival-style program. Thus, the Met Mile will be among nine graded stakes on the Belmont Stakes card June 10.

Always Dreaming’s Preakness run proves ‘horses are human’

Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming by various accounts came bouncing out of Churchill Downs in good order. His Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher felt good about his preparation.

Kentucky Derby offers clues for Preakness winner

Always Dreaming is the horse the racing industry will be rooting for. A win in the Preakness sets up another Triple Crown chance in the Belmont Stakes on June 10.

Preakness questions immediately face Always Dreaming

After Always Dreaming crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby, the first question was, “Is he good enough to win the Triple Crown.”

McCraken gets nod to win Kentucky Derby

Many experts are calling this the most wide-open Kentucky Derby in years. When I hear that, I get cynical. Wide open was in 2009 when Mine That Bird destroyed the field at 50-1 odds.

Kentucky Derby week means betting seminars in Las Vegas

The Kentucky Derby attracts the most novice and casual bettors of any race in our sport. With that in mind, there are all kinds of free Derby seminars next week.

Patience is necessary for future bets in horse racing

I love making future bets, not only in horse racing but also other sports. That’s because horseplayers learn a basic tenet early on. Our goal is to bet a little to win a lot.

‘Super Saturday’ should solidify Kentucky Derby field for many horses

When the folks at Churchill Downs dreamed up the Kentucky Derby points system, I was skeptical at first. Not anymore. It has worked by producing fields of in-form horses that, for the most part, are also bred to race two turns.