The only thing that could have happened did happen. Then, the only horse that might have provided him with any pace pressure, Smooth Roller, came out of the race Saturday morning. The one horse that appeared to have a serious chance of beating him was the terrific mare Beholder, and she was withdrawn earlier in the week after a bleeding problem. It must be noted that everything - and I mean everything - fell perfectly into place for American Pharoah in the Classic. Had he lost, he still would have been Horse of the Year, still would have made it into the Hall of Fame, but I don't believe anyone would have thought of him as a Mount Rushmore-type horse. Had he lost, he would have gone out with two defeats in his last two starts and would never have had the chance to roar through a 4-year-old campaign like Slew, Affirmed and Spectacular Bid did. Winning the Triple Crown alone was not going to be enough to get him into that rarefied company that includes only a few from the modern era, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed and maybe one or two others. This was the race that was going to decide what kind of a horse he was: a great horse or an immortal horse.
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Velazquez will ride as many as he wants.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĮven for a horse that had done so much - had already wrapped up Horse of the Year, had already reserved his spot in the Hall of Fame - American Pharoah had something to prove in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic. The time difference is the only difference. The final snap of the first day of Velazquez’s West Coast offense was a second-place finish on Nicest.Įight races, seven tickets you could cash. “This is like being the high school coach for LeBron James,” said John Sadler, Flightline’s trainer. Santa Anita: Forbidden Kingdom beats Baffert’s trio in San Vicente Stakes victoryĪt the Pegasus, Life Is Good runs away from Knicks Go Kentucky Derby Super Six missing one high-quality colt Horse racing notes: Flightline gearing up for Santa Anita return Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Friday, Feb. Flightline’s 11 ½-length blowout in the 7-furlong Malibu raised his total cushion to 37 ½ lengths in three wins. Velazquez finished fourth on Triple Tap in the Malibu Stakes, as Flightline again brought social distancing to thoroughbred racing. We’re very optimistic about the next year with him.” “We got beat a bob,” said Doug O’Neill, Hot Rod Charlie’s trainer. “I had to really start pedaling to follow the other horses,” he said.īut when Express Train broke free, he lived up to his name, and so did the eventual runner-up, who had earned his favored status by finishing second to Essential Quality in the Belmont Stakes and fourth in the Breeders Cup Classic. “I worked this horse a couple of times, and I could see he was getting this horse ready for this race real nice.”Įspinoza sensed Express Train didn’t exactly corner like a sports car. “John just gives you confidence,” Espinoza said. He saddled up favorite Beyond Brilliant in the Mathis Mile, and watched her get nosed out by Law Professor, trained by Michael McCarthy, in a drag race down the stretch. “We’ve had a lot of luck together,” said Shirreffs, who had about 25 minutes to savor this one. In 2020 they won the San Pasqual with Midcourt. They teamed up to win the 2017 Santa Anita Derby with Gormley, and won the Robert Lewis Stakes with Uncle Mo. He was 7-to-1 at post time.Įspinoza never had raced him before, but he and Shirreffs have shared a few winner’s circles together. This was also his 10th consecutive appearance in a Grade 1 or 2 stakes race, and maybe the bettors had gotten weary of him. His last win anywhere was at Del Mar in the San Diego Handicap on July 17. This was his fifth win and his first at Santa Anita since Jan. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don’t.”Įxpress Train appeared to be a Triple Crown-caliber horse as a 2-year-old but took a bad loss in the American Pharoah Stakes, and trainer John Shirreffs started him over. I was only going to win it right at the wire. “From there you try to calculate what it’s going to take,” Espinoza said. In his mile and one-sixteenth trip, he had to find lanes that weren’t there and got to the outside just at the top of the backstretch. But even though Velazquez wound up with four wins, a second and two thirds, Espinoza wasn’t trading his day for anybody’s.