By Sue Finley
On the eleventh of June 1977, Seattle Slew broke from post position five as the 2-5 favorite and led every step of the way to score by four lengths and become the 11th horse in history to complete a sweep of the Triple Crown. While Affirmed went on to become the third in the span of six years and most recent to accomplish the feat 12 months later, no fewer than 13 horses have since arrived in the Big Apple for a date with history, only to be derailed, including a trio conditioned to wins in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. by Bob Baffert (Silver Charm, 1997; Real Quiet, 1998; and War Emblem, 2002). Zayat Stables' American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) is the latest to give it a whirl, and if he can see out the grueling 12-furlong distance and a handful of would-be buzz-killers, he will put racing on the front page and snap 37 years of futility.
During a midday ceremony held in the open-air outside of New York's iconic Rockefeller Plaza, the homebred colt was–just like Slew and 13 other previous winners–assigned post position five in a field of eight for the 'Test of the Champion' which will take place shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday evening.
“I'm reminded every year,” Baffert said of Silver Charm and Real Quiet, who were denied by a matter of inches by Touch Gold and Victory Gallop, respectively. “[American Pharoah] is a different horse than they were. You really don't know until the whole series is over how good the horses are. I'm just hoping I brought the right horse here, but we won't know until halfway into the race. When I lead him over, I sort of feel like I have an edge, but coming in here and going 1 1/2 miles, it's a completely different story. ”
After drawing the rail and being forced into a speed try in the Preakness a little over two weeks ago, Victor Espinoza–the regular rider for War Emblem and last year's Triple Crown aspirant California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit)–will likely have a few more options open to him this time around.
“I am very happy with the draw. Number five is a pretty good number,” he commented. “I'm here again. I've come here twice and I'm feeling lucky this year. The third time is the charm. American Pharoah is always special. From the first time [Bob] Baffert put me on, he was special.”
Owner Ahmed Zayat, whose Paynter (Awesome Again) made nearly all the pace before being run down by Union Rags (Dixie Union) in the 2012 Belmont, is humbled by the opportunity facing him this weekend.
“We are very honored and very blessed to be here,” he offered. “What makes him special, in my opinion, is the way he moves. He's the best-moving horse I've ever seen and he does everything so easy. His stride and the way he's going into carry himself will allow him to get any kind of distance. We are coming in the best we could. Bob did a brilliant job as well as the entire team preparing him. The horse looks very healthy and very happy. We're going in with no excuses. It's an incredible feeling to go in confident that you have the horse to beat.”
The defections earlier in the week of Carpe Diem (Giant's Causeway) and The Truth or Else (Yes It's True) leave seven would-be spoilers.
Jazil (Seeking the Gold) ran on well to be a dead-heat fourth with Brother Derek (Benchmark) in the 2006 Kentucky Derby and parlayed that effort into a rallying defeat of Bluegrass Cat (Storm Cat) at Big Sandy, becoming the first of two consecutive Belmont winners for his dam Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister). Godolphin's Frosted (Tapit) was one of the few to make any late impact beneath the Twin Spires last month and the GI TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial S. hero arrives a fresh and dangerous competitor. The 5-1 second choice drew just to the outside of the chalk in stall six.
“No excuses. We weren't looking for any specific draw but in the middle is always a great place to be,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin stated. “In a mile-and-a-half race, they will all have plenty of time to sort it all out.”
Alto Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Materiality, a son of the romping 2005 Belmont hero Afleet Alex, was another who closed off well in the Derby, passing seven rivals in the final eighth of a mile to finish
sixth, beaten just under eight lengths. Seventeenth with a half-mile to run, the $400,000 FTMMAY graduate will almost definitely show the type of speed he displayed when taking out the
GI Florida Derby Mar. 28 and should have plenty to say about the outcome from the widest berth in eight.
“I think with Materiality, if you look at his first three races he's always been close to the pace and unfortunately missed the break at Churchill and found himself in a position he'd never been in,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who will also saddle GII Peter Pan S. victor Madefromlucky (Lookin at Lucky). “I like the fact that we drew outside of American Pharoah. We're going to make sure we break well this time and go into the first turn trying to make sure there's an honest pace.”
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