ELMONT, N.Y. -- As American Pharoah came out of the far turn and squared his shoulders to let his rider, Victor Espinoza, stare down the long withering stretch of Belmont Park, a sense of inevitably surged through this mammoth old grandstand as a capacity crowd strained on their tip toes and let out a roar from deep in their souls. It was going to end, finally -- this 37-year search for a great racehorse.
No, a battered old sport was looking for an immortal thoroughbred, one worthy to stand alongside Sir Barton and Assault, War Admiral and Whirlaway, Count Fleet and Citation, a horse able to earn the title of a Triple Crown champion.
Wearing the crown
It had been 37 years since a horse had won the Triple Crown before American Pharoah completed the feat Saturday by winning the 147th Belmont Stakes. A list of horses who’ve won the Triple Crown:
2015 American Pharoah
JOCKEY Victor Espinoza TRAINER Bob Baffert OWNER Ahmed Zayat
1978 Affirmed
JOCKEY Steve Cauthen TRAINER Lazaro S. Barrera OWNER Harbor View Farm
1977 Seattle Slew
JOCKEY Jean Cruguet TRAINER William Turner, Jr. OWNER Karen L. Taylor
1973 Secretariat
JOCKEY Ron Turcotte TRAINER Lucien Laurin OWNER Meadow Stable
1948 Citation
JOCKEY Eddie Arcaro TRAINER Ben A. Jones OWNER Calumet Farm
1946 Assault
JOCKEY Warren Mehrtens TRAINER Max Hirsch OWNER King Ranch
1943 Count Fleet
JOCKEY John Longden TRAINER Don Cameron OWNER Mrs. J.D. Hertz
1941 Whirlaway
JOCKEY Eddie Arcaro TRAINER Ben A. Jones OWNER Calumet Farm
1937 War Admiral
JOCKEY Charley Kurtsinger TRAINER George Conway OWNER Samuel D. Riddle
1935 Omaha
JOCKEY William Saunders TRAINER James Fitzsimmons OWNER Belair Stud
1930 Gallant Fox
JOCKEY Earl Sande TRAINER James Fitzsimmons OWNER Belair Stud
1919 Sir Barton
JOCKEY John Loftus TRAINER H. G. Bedwell OWNER J.K.L. Ross
Quotable
“It’s very emotional. I was hoping it would happen. ... I didn’t know how good it was going to feel. Now I know.”
Bob Baffert, American Pharoah’s trainer
“My horse ran great, but the horse everybody expected to win won the race. It’s exciting because we have not seen this for so long and the winner really looked brilliant.”
Joel Rosario, jockey of Frosted, who finished second
“The horse was perfect. My horse ran his race. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of. Bob Baffert is the greatest trainer of all time. My hat’s off to him. Congratulations to the Zayats.”
Dale Romans, trainer of Keen Ice, who finished third
“He’s a monster. He’s a very nice horse. He’s a freak. We haven’t had a Triple Crown winner in years. He’s a great horse. I tried to be close to him. I kept following him and my horse ran very, very good. We had no excuses. The best horse won the race.”
Irad Ortiz, jockey of Mubtaahij, who finished fourth
“He ran a hell of a race. That’s a hell of a horse. The race was over in the third jump from the gate. It was over. It’s great to come back to a screaming crowd in a happy way instead of booing. It’s a pretty cool moment.”
Gary Stevens, jockey of Tale of Verve, who finished seventh
There had only been 11 of them, and America had elected five presidents, fought three wars and lived through at least three economic downturns since Affirmed had last completed the feat in 1978. In the interim, 12 other very good racehorses had pulled into this grand old racetrack in Long Island with a chance to become the next great horse only to fall short at the hands of a great rival, as Sunday Silence did to Easy Goer in 1988, or by a heartbreaking photo finish as Real Quiet did in 1998, or to find the mile-and-a-half distance of the Belmont Stakes just too much, as Smarty Jones did in 2004 and California Chrome did last year.
But as American Pharoah bounded into the stretch amid a deafening a roar, the memories of the gritty Affirmed, the speedy Seattle Slew and that tremendous machine Secretariat were summoned from backside to grandstand, and rightfully so.
No one doubted that American Pharoah was about to enter the history books. He was bouncing down the lane as if jumping from one trampoline to the other and no one was going to catch him. In the saddle, Espinoza felt a rush that twice previously he had only been able to dream about.
He was on California Chrome last year, and War Emblem in 2002, feeling those two very good colts staggering and feeling the collective gasp of more than 100,000 people disappointed once again. But not this time -- Espinoza dropped the rein of his colt and let the muscled bay take him home.
There was no time to celebrate. Instead the 43-year-old jockey from Mexico who as a boy was afraid of horses, tried to enjoy what was going on beneath him. American Pharoah's strides seemed to get longer and longer, but Espinoza felt like he was riding a cloud.
"You don't even feel him," he said. "It feels like you are going in slow motion."
Espinoza was confident entering the Kentucky Derby. American Pharoah, after all, had been the 2-year-old champion. He was exuberant three weeks ago in Baltimore at the Preakness when the skies opened up before the race and gave American Pharoah the sloppy racetrack he prefers and skims over like a jet ski.
But Espinoza was even more confident Saturday in the jockey's room at Belmont. It was the best he had ever been on. When American Pharoah leaned back in the gate as the bell rang and the doors opened, and broke a step slow, Espinoza didn't even worry. Then, within two jumps, American Pharoah had catapulted ahead of his seven rivals and glided into the first turn like a marble circling a roulette wheel.
There was more than a mile left to run, but Espinoza knew he was in for a special ride.
"He was right in the lead, where I wanted to be, in front of everybody," he said. "I had the best feeling."
Materiality was giving chase, but whenever that colt got close, American Pharoah seemed to find another gear. He shook that rival off at the mile
"Steady, steady," Espinoza said to himself.
The horse from Dubai, Mubtaahij, took a run at him on the far turn, but got within only 3 lengths before peeling back. Revving up outside him, however, was the late-running Frosted. He pounded down the stretch and got within 4, 3 and 2 1/2 lengths, but then America Pharoah stretched his stride like he was elastic and snapped off to a 4-length lead. When Espinoza crossed the finish line 5 1/2 lengths ahead, he finally allowed a smile to curl at the corner of his mouth and a raucous celebration reverberate deep into his bones.
In the record books, it will say American Pharoah covered the marathon distance in 2:26.65 and paid his backers $3.50 for a $2 bet and fattened his earnings to more than $4.5 million for his owner, Ahmed Zayat.
But as Espinoza galloped American Pharoah the length of the grandstand and let a thunderstruck crowd, many with tears in their eyes, cheer an ethereal performance of a once in a lifetime athlete, he could barely catch his breath.
"Wow," he told the outrider alongside him. "Wow. He's just an amazing horse."
Sports on 06/07/2015