Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) put the finishing touches on preparations for Sunday's GI Haskell Invitational Tuesday morning, working a half-mile in :48.80 at Del Mar. Del Mar's clockers timed American Pharoah, who was ridden by jockey Martin Garcia, in splits of :12:60, :25.20 and :37.00 for the first three-eighths and had him galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.00 and six furlongs in 1:14.40.
“He went really nice,” reported trainer Bob Baffert. “Basically it looked more like an open gallop for him. He [galloped] out in 1:01 [for five furlongs] and he just looked like the Pharoah that he is. I didn't want to do anything too much with him this week because his last couple works were pretty stiff. He looked great, he's moving beautifully and he is holding his form really well.”
Baffert has been impressed by his charge's consistency.
“What makes him a great horse is that he can sustain his form,” Baffert continued. “There are a lot of horses I've had that are really good horses, but they just can't sustain the form for a long period of time. He seems to hold it, and that's what makes him great. He hasn't tailed off like I thought he would–he's just getting stronger. He's a really special horse.”
American Pharoah, off since completing his Triple Crown sweep in the June 6 GI Belmont S., ships to New Jersey early Wednesday morning, with a scheduled arrival at Atlantic City International Airport at 2 p.m. ET.
“I'm on the Pharoah tour now,” Baffert said. “My job is just to keep him in form; keep him happy. I need to make sure he's ready for anything they throw at him. That's it now–just keep him healthy and happy. Of all my big horses, he's the easiest [to deal with]. You don't worry about him; he's easy. You work him, you put him back in his stall, and you don't have to talk about him the rest of the day. Some of my horses, you're worrying about this and worrying about that, but him–he's easy. I haven't looked at the weather back there; it's usually hot. But it won't matter. He can handle it.”
An estimated 300 to 400 fans were on hand to witness American Pharoah's work from the Del Mar grandstand. The move earned a round of applause from the crowd.
Also happy with the work was Garcia, who called it “smooth and easy.” Asked if American Pharoah was ready for his return to action, Garcia added, “He's always ready.”
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