From the moment he was born, American Pharoah was destined for greatness.
That was the only sure thing in this story, everything else was a product of chance. The story of American Pharoah is one of destiny carving a masterpiece out of chance and my involvement in it lives in the realms of the impossible. I got into horse racing through a simple twist of fate when Ahmed Zayat started his racing stable in 2005 and I got to join him, an unexpected opportunity that turned into a calling.
It wasn't until I got to experience that first win at the track that I really got to understand the essence of this sport. The stretch run of a race brings out emotions that transcend our vocabulary and the moment that your horse crosses the finish line first is one that would bring even the most stoic of us to jump up and down in an unbridled state of euphoria. Horse racing is magic and American Pharoah was its manifestation.
The magic of our beautiful sport doesn't come easy and every magical moment has a story behind it. My story with American Pharoah starts at the 2005 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale when Zayat Stables purchased Hip 142, a colt by Gone West—Star of Goshen, by Lord At War, named Forefathers. We loved Forefathers so much that we ventured to buy his dam privately. We were lucky her owner had been dealt a pair of bad cards in her previous matings—otherwise, I doubt he would have parted with her. When we bought her she was carrying a colt by Empire Maker: Pioneerof the Nile.
We had Derby fever before Star of Goshen even made it to the farm and, aptly for this story, Pioneerof the Nile was born on Derby weekend of 2006. That dream almost came to a screeching halt a few weeks later when he was found lying in the field, collapsed from colic, and had to have surgery to save his life. And as a yearling, in a momentary lapse of judgment, we entered him in the Keeneland September Yearling Sale only for the saving grace of fate to have us buy him back. We took him back home, and from that sale we also took home Hip 1408, a Yankee Gentleman filly out of Exclusive Rosette: Littleprincessemma. The future sire and dam of the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, sharing the track together training every morning at the McKathan Training Center near Ocala, Fla.
Pioneerof the Nile went into the 2009 Kentucky Derby (G1) as one of the favorites and emotions were running high. We were going into the Kentucky Derby with our first homebred! The magic was real. Pioneerof the Nile was about to avenge his dad's defeat in the Derby in a crowning moment fitting of a Hollywood ending. This was everything anyone in this sport can dream of, and that dream was just a furlong away when Tom Durkin let a mighty roar: "And Pioneerof the Nile strikes the front just outside the eighth pole." In a blink of an eye, that dream slipped out of our hands by a 50-1 longshot (Mine That Bird). It was the most soul-crushing moment I've ever felt at a racetrack—like watching a dream unravel before my eyes, sharp and sudden.
Stud Deals and Matings
The last thing I did before leaving Zayat Stables later that year was finalize the stallion deal for Pioneerof the Nile. That deal was surprisingly hard to get done. For some fateful reason, we were only able to sell 25% of him—giving us the opportunity to breed plenty to him. In January 2011, I got an email from Ahmed Zayat that read: "Can you give us your opinion? I know you like this." Below was the Zayat Stables mating plan for 2011. In that mating plan, Littleprincessemma was scheduled to go to Zensational, another Zayat stallion.
I did the analysis and sent a spreadsheet back and in that spreadsheet was a future Triple Crown winner. Fate can hide in ordinary moments like the click of a cell in a spreadsheet that read "Littleprincessemma x Pioneerof the Nile, good cross, Acoma, Acting Happy." (Acoma is a grade 1 winner by Empire Maker, Acting Happy a grade 2 winner by the same sire.)
Mr. Zayat, of course, would make the final call. Next year, that cell on a spreadsheet was American Pharoah. In his flesh.
In 2013, American Pharoah was offered as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale, where this story began. Just like his sire, he was bought back. Before that, Littleprincessemma, while carrying American Pharoah, was offered at the 2011 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and was scratched before going in the ring. Fate clearly was determined for this story to come full circle and for American Pharoah to race in his home colors. He did not disappoint, rattling off a pair of grade 1 wins as a 2-year-old before injuring his hind suspensory before the Breeders' Cup.
I was watching him from afar with everyone else until one fateful January morning in 2015, I got a call from Coolmore's Paul Shanahan asking me if I could help them buy his breeding rights from Zayat Stables. The first thing I said was: "You have a direct line to Zayat. What do you need me for?" His reply was that they had tried twice to buy stallions from him before—Zensational and Eskendereya—and hadn't succeeded, and they thought they might have better luck if I tried. After three weeks of negotiations, the deal was done and I got to have a courtside seat to watch the rest of the story unfold.
One of the things that stuck with me from these negotiations is that toward the end, Paul told me, "We would appreciate if you do not push this horse to try to make the Derby. We think he is a great horse and want to give him every chance to reach that greatness."
American Pharoah
This was the end of January, and American Pharoah had only just started back hand-walking after recovering from his injury. But there was no pushing American Pharoah, there was only keeping up. This is a horse that dictated the pace—you just needed to keep up and get him there. And he was in the care of the one man who understood that better than anyone. Bob Baffert got American Pharoah to the Derby with Hall of Fame smoothness, winning the Rebel Stakes (G2) and the Arkansas Derby (G1) before making it to Churchill Downs as the favorite for the Derby.
A familiar old spot from six years prior with his sire. And in his stretch battle, when Larry Collmus called, "and Firing Line is not done yet," all I could think of in that moment was the horror of Pioneerof the Nile's Derby. But this time, in the blink of an eye, Pharoah fulfilled a dream that had spanned three generations: from Empire Maker, to Pioneerof the Nile, and now, to him. He would not be denied.
After that day, this was no longer our dream. American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown became the collective dream of a sport. Thirty-seven years of longing fulfilled to a crescendo of 90,000 fans in the Belmont Park grandstand cheering in unison to make the most beautiful sound I have heard in my life. There are great horses, there are horses with intangible qualities—and then there is American Pharoah; a horse conjured by something more to bring the magic of racing to the many, a horse with a mind so unique that it allowed him to have unprecedented access to his fans.
Nothing fazed him, and he left thousands of people with memories that will remain etched in their consciousness forever. He is like no other horse. His movement is more a work of art than a system of biomechanics. He is a horse that you instantly connect with: sweet in his fierceness, humble in his regalness, and subtle in his greatness.
In his last race, the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), as he was about to put on his final show, I got to experience a moment I would not have believed if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Before the race, after leaving the saddling area and entering walking ring number four at Keeneland, he took one turn around the ring, then stopped right in front of his owner/breeder. He turned his head and gave him a long, lingering, confident look that only meant one thing: "I got this."
