‘It’s crazy’; American Pharoah’s sister Kentucky Oaks-bound

Given American Pharoah’s brilliance, “everyone wants to see this filly run off the screen,” trainer Bob Baffert says of Chasing Yesterday, the Triple Crown winner’s 3-year-old half-sister.

The daughter of Tapit produced by the same mare, Littleprincessemma, hasn’t shown a propensity for prevailing by especially wide margins. But she is a winner, now 5-for-6 and qualified for the Kentucky Oaks after her victory last weekend in the Sunland Park Oaks.

“It’s crazy,” Baffert said, considering these high-profile siblings so rarely live up to expectations.

The Hall of Famer said the filly carries a similar disposition to American Pharoah. And in part because of that, she’s the “most-spoiled horse in the barn.” Brother and sister share more than their bloodlines, both favoring carrots as a snack. 

“She’s a Tapit, and I didn’t want to get in a rush with her, but she’s already run six times,” Baffert said. “She’s going to get better, but unfortunately she didn’t get to show her stuff the other day.

"She got the job done. She was just way the best.”

An odds-on favorite at Sunland Park in New Mexico — Chasing Yesterday’s backup plan for a season debut with her earlier Oaks prep canceled amid a halt to racing at Santa Anita Park — the filly hopped leaving the gate.

Chasing Yesterday went five-wide into the first turn under Drayden Van Dyke, then settled along the back stretch before making a winning move. It was 1 1/4 lengths to second place.

“She didn’t get the kind of race that we were looking for,” Baffert said, “because once she got left in the gate, he wanted to save ground in all that. She won because she’s just such a good filly.”

From here, Baffert isn’t expecting Chasing Yesterday to run again before the first Friday in May. With 60 qualifying points, the Summer Wind Equine homebred sits third on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard, given 50 points for the Sunland win and another 10 for her victory in Los Alamitos’ Starlet Stakes (G1) two starts back in December.

As many as 14 can run in the Oaks at Churchill Downs.

“I just want to get her back and watch her train a little bit,” said Baffert, who has sent Chasing Yesterday out for just one defeat. Following a debut victory last summer at Del Mar, she shipped for Saratoga’s Spinaway (G1) but never much got involved. It was too much too soon.

Since then, she's 4-for-4, all in stakes company.

Jane Lyon, who owns Summer Wind Farm in Georgetown, Ky., said Chasing Yesterday is named after her late husband, Frank, who purchased the property in 1995. The couple sold rather than raced their foals unless reserve wasn’t met in the auction ring — that is, until Frank gave permission to keep this filly before she was born, and shortly before he passed.

"This is my first graded stakes horse,” Lyon said. “It's an amazing feeling."

They bought Littleprincessemma for $2.1 million ahead of American Pharoah’s historic Triple Crown sweep. One of Frank Lyon’s last outings was to see Pharoah win his Breeders’ Cup Classic the following season at Keeneland.

Further proof this family can flat out run? Five 2-year-olds by American Pharoah went for an average of $702,000 on Wednesday at Gulfstream Park's Fasig-Tipton sale, including a $1.65 million son of Grade 1 winner Ice Box.

Other Summer Wind success stories include breeding Grade 1 winners Moonshine Memories and McKinzie.