American Pharoah from A to Z
To continue the celebration of the twelfth Triple Crown winner, let’s take a look at fun facts from A to Z for Zayat Stables’ American Pharoah.
A – Arkansas Derby – Eight lengths, American Pharoah’s largest margin of victory, came at Oaklawn Park.
B – Bob Baffert – Not only is Baffert the Triple Crown trainer, but he was also the trainer of two of the Zayat Stable’s Kentucky Derby second place finishes with Pioneerof the Nile in 2009 and Bodemeister in 2012.
C – Calculator – Calculator finished second in American Pharoah’s first two victories. After those losses, Calculator won the January 2015 Sham (G3) at Santa Anita by better than four lengths.
D – Del Mar Futurity – American Pharoah broke his maiden in this Grade 1 event, winning the seven furlong race by nearly five-lengths with a 101 BSF.
E – Eclipse Awards – With just two victories, American Pharoah won the Eclipse Award for Two-Year-Old Males. No doubt in 2015 he will add the awards for Horse of the Year and Three-Year-Old Males.
F – Frontrunner – American Pharoah won his two-year-old championship when he defeated Calculator and Texas Red in this Grade 1 stake at Santa Anita.
G – Groundhog Day – American Pharoah was born on February 2, which was Groundhog Day in 2012.
H – Hall of Fame – American Pharoah will be eligible to be inducted into the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame in 2020.
I – Ingordo Bloodstock – They acted as agent for Ahmed Zayat when he bought back American Pharoah for $300,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale of August 2013.
J – Juvenile Champion – American Pharoah was the first Juvenile Champion to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness since Spectacular Bid did it in 1979.
K – Kentucky Derby – American Pharoah showed his mettle when he defeated the 18-horse field. That performance took nothing out of him, in fact he got stronger and more fit after the Derby.
L – Littleprincessemma – The mother of American Pharoah showed little on the race track, earning only $172 while racing for Zayat Stables in her two starts, one at Churchill Downs and the other at Saratoga. American Pharoah is the second foal from this broodmare who is named for Zayat’s youngest daughter, Emma. Littleprincessemma’s 2015 foal is a full brother to the Triple Crown winner.
M – Monster Energy – Shortly before the Belmont Stakes Monster Energy drinks became the official sponsor of American Pharoah. Not unusual in recent years, Orb was endorsed by Maserati and California Chrome by Skechers.
N – Northern Dancer – American Pharoah has the great sire, Northern Dancer on both sides of his pedigree five generations back through El Gran Senor on the male side and by Storm Bird on the female side.
O – Overall – To date, American Pharoah’s overall record is 8: 7-0-0 for $4,530,300.
P – Pioneerof the Nile – American Pharoah’s sire Pioneerof the Nile was a Zayat Stables homebred by Empire Maker, the horse who defeated Funny Cide in the Belmont Stakes. The mare, Star of Goshen, won her first three starts by a total of 27 lengths.
Q – Quite a Horse – It took quite a horse to accomplish what 13 others could not complete over the past 37 years to become only the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown.
R – Rebel – American Pharoah’s road to the Triple Crown began on a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park on March 14, 2015, in this Grade 2 event.
S – Sloppy – Two of American Pharoah’s largest victories happened on sloppy tracks, in the Rebel by 6 ¼ and in the Preakness by 7.
T – Thirty-five and three-quarters – This is the combined margin of victory for American Pharoah’s seven wins. He's won by 4 ¾, 3 ¼, 6 ¼, 8, 1, 7, and 5 ½.
U – Undefeated, almost - Except for a loss in his first race as a two-year-old at Del Mar, American Pharoah has never lost a race. In that race on August 9, 2014, he was wearing blinkers and finished fifth after an uncharacteristic pre-race meltdown. From that point on, the blinkers came off and the earplugs went in.
V – Victor Espinoza – Espinoza was the jockey on all seven of American Pharoah’s wins. Martin Garcia rode him in the first race loss. Espinoza will be eligible for the Hall of Fame next year.
W – Winchester, KY – The birthplace of American Pharoah is Stockplace Farm in Winchester, KY.
X – Xixixi – This son of the Zayat stallion Maimonides now can be listed as the older half-brother to a Triple Crown winner. He is the first foal of Littleprincessemma. His career stats are 13: 2-3-1 for $81,799.
Y – Yankee Gentleman – This relatively unknown stallion now has achieved fame as the sire of American Pharoah’s mother, Littleprincessemma. As a runner he won $202,547 including a fifth place finish in the 2003 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He currently stands for $5,000 at Le Mesa Stallions in California.
Z – Zayat Stables – The Zayats, who began racing in only 2005, have had a strong say on the Kentucky Derby since 2009 with a win, three second finishes, and a Derby favorite that was scratched a few days before the race. Now their homebred, American Pharoah, has claimed racing’s greatest prize.