American Pharoah conquers sloppy track, Rebel field

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – American Pharoah mastered the one foe that figured to have the best shot at tripping up the champion: the mud.

In his first start in 5½ months and while coming back from an injury, first time shipping and first time racing over anything but a fast track, American Pharoah romped to a front-running 6-1/4-length victory over Madefromlucky in Oaklawn Park's $750,000 Rebel Stakes Saturday.

"The race on paper was for him to lose," said owner-breeder Ahmed Zayat. "He was a legitimate 1-to-5 like the bettors made him. But it's different on the track. We haven't run since September. He was training fantastic, but a horse coming off an injury, not running in five months, shipping in, it asked a lot. We wanted to see how he handled it. And he did it easy… We got what we wanted, so we're tickled pink. I'm so happy to have him back."

Zayat acknowledged that he was "freaking out" over the off track. "As an owner, safety is No. 1 for me," he said, adding of trainer Bob Baffert. "… Bob was comfortable with the track, and he's the trainer. But I was freaking out."

Because none of his six rivals had won more than a maiden race, it's still hard to know exactly where Zayat Stable's American Pharoah stacks up with other Kentucky Derby favorites, including his 5-for-5 stablemate Dortmund. But he sure looks like the most brilliant, his three victories since losing his first start – which trainer Bob Baffert says was the only time he was surprised at what the colt did – all accomplished wire-to-wire with dominating margins.

Jockey Victor Espinoza rode to instructions: He never urged American Pharoah at any point.

"The way it looks, easy? It was easy," said Espinoza, who is 3 for 3 on the horse. "He's a tremendous horse. A lot of talent. He loves to run. These guys deserve to have a horse like American Pharoah, because they put so much time and money in the races. This one is an amazing horse. Bob Baffert, first time he put me on, he said, 'This is a real horse.'

"Today, his first race back – amazing."

American Pharoah didn't have a graceful start, stumbling a bit when he moved at the break, with Baffert saying by telephone that his right front shoe partially twisted off. That can be like running with something in your shoe.

"Once he got to the first turn, and he was in his groove, galloping, I thought, 'If he's the horse we hope he is, he's in good shape.' You're always hoping he's going to run like that. It was the perfect kind of race on the comeback…. It's pretty exciting."

Paid Admission, a 38-1 shot, was closest in pursuit, with Madefromlucky right up there as well. Still, no one could or dared to hook American Pharoah, who galloped through leisurely pace over a surface that changed from good to sloppy with a light rain. The race was over when American Pharoah hit the half-mile in 49.63 seconds, an outcome further confirmed when he went six furlongs in 1:15.22, crawling for a horse of his class, even in the mud.

Even so, Madefromlucky appeared to be running easily and Bold Conquest loomed up on the second turn. But through the stretch, his ears pricked, American Pharoah accelerated while seemingly in a common gallop. He punched ahead to a four-length victory with an eighth-mile to go, covering the last sixteenth-mile in a fine 6.02 seconds to finish in 1:45.78. He paid $2.80 to win.

Bold Conquest finished another 2 ½ lengths back in third, followed by Southwest runner-up The Truth Or Else, Paid Admission, Sakima and Tizwonderfulcreek.

American Pharoah was the prohibitive favorite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile but was scratched the day after entries with what was first thought to be a foot bruise. It's been unclear what exactly the injury was. Zayat said after the Rebel that they still aren't sure, because nothing showed up on the high-tech exams, but that it was treated as a suspensory ligament issue.

Zayat and Baffert said the April 11 Arkansas Derby is a strong possibility but that other preps would be considered as American Pharoah's next start.

"I'm just glad we got this one out of the way and got him back," Baffert said.

Asked if the race might have been too easy, given that he'll only have one more race before the May 2 Kentucky Derby, the three-time Derby winner said, "I don't think so. It was a good race for him. He'll get a lot out of it. I think the track was very demanding, which you can tell by the time of the race. I think it was perfect. We learned a lot. He shipped and shipped well, handled everything well. I think he got a lot out of it."

Rees writes for The Louisville Courier-Journal