American Pharoah

Background

American Pharoah is a bay stallion with a faint star on his forehead and no other white markings. He is from the second crop of foals sired by Pioneerof the Nile, who finished second in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. The stallion's first crop included Holy Bull Stakes winner Cairo Prince, and Social Inclusion, who finished third in the 2014 Preakness Stakes. American Pharoah's dam, Littleprincessemma, was purchased by Zayat in 2007 for $250,000. She raced but did not win either of her two starts in 2008. American Pharoah was her second foal, following allowance race winner Xixixi. Since his birth, she had produced two more full siblings to American Pharoah: a filly born in 2014, and a colt, foaled in 2015 after she sold—in foal to Pioneerof the Nile—in November 2014 for $2.1 million.

American Pharoah was bred in Kentucky by his owner, Ahmed Zayat, CEO of Zayat Stables, LLC, and was born at 11 p.m. on Groundhog Day, February 2, 2012, at Tom VanMeter's Stockplace Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. When he was a few days old, he and Littleprincessemma went to nearby Pretty Run Farm, also owned by VanMeter, where they remained for a few months. Later, the mare and foal were moved to Vinery, another Lexington farm where Pioneerof the Nile was stabled. There, American Pharoah was weaned at five months of age, and stood out from the other weanlings due to his conformation and good temperament.

In January 2013 as a yearling, he went to Taylor Made Farm near Nicholasville, Kentucky, and began to be prepared for possible sale. In August 2013, American Pharoah was consigned by the Taylor Made Sales Agency to the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling sale. A few weeks before the auction, American Pharoah bumped his leg and had a small lump that was visible to potential buyers at the sale, which may have discouraged bidders. He was officially purchased for the posted minimum of $300,000 by Ingordo Bloodstock, acting as an agent for Zayat, who in effect bought back his own horse. Zayat had pledged that he would not sell the promising but untested colt for less than $1 million. Zayat similarly bought back Pioneerof the Nile, American Pharoah's sire, for $290,000 in a 2007 yearling auction.

"We felt that he had brilliance in him", said Zayat of American Pharoah, "his demeanor, his aura, his conformation, the way he moved." Following the auction, the horse first went to Florida and was started under saddle at the McKathan Brothers Training Center near Citra, where trainer J.B. McKathan said, "He just did everything right." Once he was ready to begin race conditioning, he went into training with Hall of Fame inductee Bob Baffert in the spring of 2014.

Name

American Pharoah's name is inspired by that of his sire, Pioneerof the Nile, and his dam's sire, Yankee Gentleman. The horse's name also acknowledges Zayat's own Egyptian-American background. The misspelling of "Pharaoh" is permanent, but inadvertent. Zayat originally claimed that the spelling was the result of an error by the Jockey Club, but the organization's president stated, "The name request for the 2012 colt American Pharoah was submitted electronically on January 25, 2014, through the Jockey Club's interactive registration site. Since the name met all of the criteria for naming and was available, it was granted exactly as it was spelled on the digital name application." Zayat later retracted his statement.

Zayat's wife, Joanne, offered another explanation for the name's origins to a local news reporter just before the Preakness. Zayat's son, Justin, ran a contest on social media in which fans could submit names for the horse. The winning entry had "Pharaoh" misspelled, she said. "Justin cut and pasted the name from [the winner's] email, and sent it to the Jockey Club." Marsha Baumgartner of Barnett, Missouri, who submitted the winning entry, told The New York Times, "I don't want to assign blame", but "I looked up the spelling before I entered." Nonetheless, Baumgartner minimized the controversy, stating, "Horses can't spell, anyway." Ultimately, Justin Zayat accepted responsibility for the error, stating, "I didn't happen to realize at the time that it was misspelled wrong [sic] ... Most English teachers in the world now are unhappy with me, but I'll live with that."

Due to the winning record of American Pharoah, the Jockey Club has now reserved both spellings so another horse cannot be similarly named. The Triple Crown blanket awarded to American Pharoah after his Belmont win inadvertently used the correct spelling of "pharaoh", and hence misspelled his name.

Racing career

2014: two-year-old season

American Pharoah made his track debut in a maiden race over six and a half furlongs on the Polytrack surface at Del Mar Racetrack on August 9. Ridden by Martin Garcia, he started as the 7–5 favorite against eight opponents. He became unsettled before the race and, after running in second place until the stretch, faded to finish fifth behind Om, Iron Fist, One Lucky Dane, and Calculator, more than nine lengths behind the winner. He ran in a blinker hood, which appeared to unnerve him, as did the commotion in the saddling paddock. Baffert addressed his anxiety issues by removing the hood and stuffing cotton in the horse's ears for subsequent races.

Despite his defeat, American Pharoah was moved up to Grade I class for the Del Mar Futurity over seven furlongs on September 3. He was ridden by Victor Espinoza for the first time and started as the 3.2–1 second favorite behind Best Pal Stakes winner Skyway, with Calculator and Iron Fist also in the field. American Pharoah took the lead from the start and went clear in the straight to win by four and three quarter lengths from Calculator, with a gap of more than eight lengths back to Iron Fist in third. Commenting on the colt's improvement, Baffert said, "We took the blinkers off, put cotton in his ears and schooled him a lot. He trained well, we decided he was ready and we put him in there. Today, he behaved himself and showed what he could do. He did what we thought he'd do the first time."

On September 27, American Pharoah was made the 1–2 favorite for the Grade I FrontRunner Stakes over 8+1⁄2 furlongs at Santa Anita Park. As in his previous race, he was immediately sent to the front by Espinoza and stayed there, pulling away from his rivals in the straight to win by three and a quarter lengths over Calculator, with Texas Red a length and a half away in third. After the race, Espinoza explained how the colt moved: "All the way he was on a high cruising speed. He has such a long stride. He moves really nice and is light on his feet." Baffert said, "I can't believe his demeanor, how he has changed since his first out. He's so professional. He's really mentally there."

American Pharoah was scheduled to run in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on November 1 but was scratched from the race after sustaining a "deep bruise" to his left front foot in a workout on October 27. After this injury, he was fitted with a special horseshoe. His farrier, Wes Champagne, placed a thin sheet of aluminum alloy over a regular racing horseshoe and cut it to match the dimensions of the shoe, leaving the front two-thirds of the hoof sole exposed, but creating a solid plate across the back that covered part of American Pharoah's heels and part of his frog. Champagne varied the design slightly depending on the tracks and races American Pharoah would run, but used the same basic concept throughout the Triple Crown series.

2015: three-year-old season

Five and a half months after his last start, American Pharoah began his second season in the Grade II Rebel Stakes on a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park on March 14. He carried top weight of 119 pounds and started as the 2–5 favorite against six opponents, headed by the Todd Pletcher-trained Madefromlucky. The colt led from the start and drew away in the closing stages to win by six and a quarter lengths. Espinoza called the winner "an amazing horse", while Baffert was satisfied with the run, especially as the colt returned with a twisted shoe which would have hampered his progress. Four weeks later at the same track, American Pharoah started as the odds-on favorite against seven opponents in the Grade I Arkansas Derby. After racing in second place behind outsider Bridget's Big Luvy, he took the lead a quarter of a mile from the finish and steadily increased his advantage to win by eight lengths from Southwest Stakes winner Far Right. Baffert noted, "He's matured substantially. He's a good horse and he keeps moving forward. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but Dortmund is another one who we don't yet know how good he is. We've got a one-two punch and that's a good position to be in." After the race, Ron Moquett, the trainer of runner-up Far Right, described American Pharoah as "a superhorse".

On May 2, American Pharoah started as the 2.9–1 favorite in an eighteen-runner field for the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. His opponents included Dortmund, winner of the Santa Anita Derby; Carpe Diem, who won the Breeders' Futurity Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes; Firing Line, winner of the Sunland Derby; Wood Memorial winner Frosted; Florida Derby winner Materiality; international entry Mubtaahij, who earned his way to Kentucky with a win in the UAE Derby; and Upstart, winner of the Holy Bull Stakes. The crowd surrounding the horse during the walk-over from the barns to the paddock upset American Pharoah, and several grooms were required to keep him under control. He continued to misbehave until he was loaded into the starting gate; his connections and supporters worried that he was using up energy he needed for the race.

Espinoza positioned the colt in third place early in the race as Dortmund took the lead, followed closely by Firing Line. The three remained ahead of the pack throughout the race, and broke clear of their rivals entering the straightaway with American Pharoah making a forward move on the outside. The favorite took the lead entering the final furlong and won by a length from Firing Line and Dortmund in 2:03.02, with Frosted finishing strongly in fourth. Espinoza, who won the race for the third time, said, "I feel like the luckiest Mexican on earth. He has been a special horse since the first time I rode him. He has a lot of talent and is an unbelievable horse. Turning for home I started riding a little bit harder. At the eighth pole I just couldn't put that other horse away, but he got it done." Espinoza's performance attracted some scrutiny as he appeared to have struck the winner 32 times with his whip during the race. In post-race analysis, one of the stewards at Churchill Downs said, "we watched [the race replay] many, many times prior to making it official, and that wasn't anything that got our attention." Baffert said, "He was hitting him on the saddle towel. He doesn't hit that hard." Gary Stevens, rider of second-place Firing Line, commented that he had used his whip heavily as well, stating that the race was "as tough a race as I've been in in 20 years the last eighth of a mile." The Blood-Horse writer Steve Haskin, while condemning whip overuse in general, offered analysis that Espinoza "did a lot of waving with the whip" and may not have actually hit the horse as many times as it seemed. Reflecting on the race, Baffert said that the colt did not bring his "super A-game" to the Derby and that it was the first time American Pharoah had really been tested by other aggressive horses.

Retirement

On May 20, 2015, The New York Times reported that Zayat had sold American Pharoah's breeding rights to Ashford Stud, a division of Ireland's Coolmore Stud, though he retained control over the colt and his racing career. Before the announcement, offers for American Pharoah's breeding rights had reportedly exceeded $20 million. After the Belmont, Forbes magazine reported that Zayat had actually sold the breeding rights to Ashford in late 2014, long before he began his Triple Crown run, and that Zayat retained 100% of the racing rights. Forbes went on to estimate that if American Pharoah stood for a $100,000 stud fee, he could be worth $50 million. More conservative estimates placed his potential stud fee at $75,000 and his potential value at about $25 to $36 million. The New York Times said that breeding rights had been sold for $13.8 million: $9.8 million with an additional $4 million incentive if American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes. Zayat retained an undisclosed percentage in the colt's breeding career, and explained that American Pharoah would retire from racing at the end of 2015.

American Pharoah shipped to Ashford Stud on November 2, 2015, where he was housed in the stall once occupied by Grand Slam. He was pastured each morning next to the 23-year-old Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Thunder Gulch, who was chosen for his calming influence on the young energetic stallion. Ashford Stud set his initial stud fee for 2016 at $200,000, the second-highest stud fee in the United States, behind that of the $300,000 fee for Tapit. Sire Pioneerof the Nile's stud fee of $60,000 in 2015 was raised to $125,000 for 2016.

Stud career

American Pharoah officially began breeding mares in February 2016, and was first bred to Untouched Talent, an 11-year-old mare owned by Coolmore, dam of Zayat's Bodemeister. He had about 80 mares in foal after about 100 breeding sessions. Notably, he retained his kind disposition even as a breeding stallion.

On January 3, 2017, American Pharoah's first foal was born at Brookdale Farms, a bay colt out of the Tizway mare, Kakadu. The foal was described as having his sire's calm but bold personality. On January 15 at Coolmore Stud, the mare Untouched Talent produced his first filly.

American Pharoah's first crop of foals sold well at the November 2017 Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland Sales, including a weanling filly who brought $1 million. Purchasers commented that his offspring at the sale inherited his efficiency of movement.

On April 13, 2019, Monarch of Egypt became American Pharoah's first winner, taking a maiden race at Naas Racecourse in Ireland. On April 19, Maven was American Pharoah's first North American winner. Maven then shipped to Europe, where he became the first stakes winner for his sire by taking the Prix du Bois at Chantilly Racecourse. American Pharoah sired three entries in the 2019 Breeders' Cup, with Four Wheel Drive winning the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Harvey's Lil Goil became his first Grade I winner when she won the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland in October 2020, and later that month Van Gogh won the Critérium International to give the stallion his first Group 1 winner in Europe. American Pharoah had a Grade 1 winner in Japan on February 21, 2021, when Cafe Pharoah won the February Stakes.

In March 2017, Coolmore announced that American Pharoah would shuttle to stand at Coolmore Australia for the breeding season in the southern hemisphere, which begins in July, then return to America at the end of the year. He shuttled to Australia for five years. His first winner in Australia was the colt Head of State, who won a race in 2021. In 2024, his son Riff Rocket won three Group 1 events and became just the fourth horse to complete the Victoria Derby and Australian Derby double, the distance of both events close to his sire's victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. American Pharoah did not shuttle to Australia in 2022.

Legacy and honors

In 2016, Oaklawn president Charles Cella commissioned Philadelphia sculptor James Peniston to create a life-sized bronze sculpture of American Pharoah and jockey Victor Espinoza. In preparation for sculpting, Peniston visited and photographed the horse with the permission of trainer Bob Baffert. The sculpture was cast in 2017 at Laran Bronze outside Philadelphia and installed on January 11, 2018, at the Oaklawn racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas. One newspaper wrote, "James Peniston's full-scale, full-stride statue of American Pharoah [is] a perfect duplicate — down to its bulging muscles and veins — of the 3-year-old colt as he carried himself and jockey Victor Espinoza in the winter and spring of 2015 toward Triple Crown glory."

In 2021, American Pharoah was inducted into the US Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Pedigree

American Pharoah's pedigree includes horses noted for success at classic race distances on his sire's side and those with speed on his dam's side.