Easy Jog in the Park for 'Pharoah'

By Steve Sherack

Just as he's done all spring in the mornings at Churchill Downs and Pimlico, dual Classic winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) continued to show all the right signs during his first piece of light exercise at Belmont Park Wednesday. 

With the sun attempting to peek through the clouds on a cool and overcast morning, the Zayat homebred looked as good as ever while entering the track with his neck slightly arched while under a snug hold by his regular exercise rider Jorge Alvarez. Accompanied by assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes aboard the Bob Baffert stable pony Smokey, American Pharoah jogged once the wrong away over a freshly harrowed surface immediately following the renovation break at 8:45 a.m. 

“He was so strong when he got onto the track he was just marching right along,” Baffert commented. “He was really full of himself so I called an audible on the radio with Jimmy because he was pretty strong so we let him jog all the way around. It was better off that way. Otherwise, he would have wanted to gallop and get too tough down the stretch.” 

Baffert added, “He looked happy out there and that's the whole key. Keep them happy. Things can change overnight, but the way he feels, the way he's trained, right now everything is going really smoothly. I like what I see.” 

Mubtaahij (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was also out after the break, turning in another good-looking gallop. He continues to get over the surface real well here, and if willing to excuse his lackluster eighth-place finish in the GI Kentucky Derby, the bay figures to secure a much more favorable trip–think G2 UAE Derby–Saturday. The price should certainly be right. 

With approximately 50-75 media types on hand standing behind a fence adjacent the recently refurbished Barn 1, Baffert graciously waved the adoring crowd over to get a closer look at American Pharoah while the champ was getting cleaned up following his day's work. Clearly no stranger to all the attention, American Pharoah remained cool as can be, and also got a good rise out of the crowd while previously walking the shedrow, stopping and turning his head to see what all the fuss was about outside. 

There was also plenty to see earlier in the morning, too. Preakness runner-up Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) was the first of the GI Belmont S. horses to make an appearance, galloping over a sloppy and sealed track at 5:45 a.m. Todd Pletcher's live duo of GI Florida Derby winner Materiality (Afleet Alex) and GII Peter Pan S. hero Madefromlucky (Lookin At Lucky)–both somewhat surprisingly still not sporting their Belmont S. towels–were out about a half an hour later to gallop. With Belmont S. wins courtesy of the super filly Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy) in 2007 and Palace Malice (Curlin) six years later, as well as strong recent performances by Commissioner (A.P. Indy), Dunkirk (Unbridled's Song) and Stay Thirsty (Bernardini), Pletcher certainly appears locked and loaded to add to that list this year.

'TDN Rising Stars' Honor Code (A.P. Indy) and Tonalist (Tapit) both immediately caught the eye during their respective gallops shortly thereafter. The popular duo are slated to line up in a GI Met Mile for the ages this weekend.

Frammento (Midshipman) was out for light exercise at 7:45 a.m. after arriving from Nick Zito's Saratoga base Tuesday. The flashy blaze-faced chestnut, 11th in the Derby, was accompanied by a stable pony during his tour around the 1 1/2-mile oval. 

With all eight of the Belmont S. runners now stabled on the grounds, there will plenty more to come in this column the following two mornings before the main event. Stay tuned…