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 "He looked like a monster out there," Baffert told reporters after
the colt's gallop on Friday at Belmont Park. "I am really happy with
the way he went. He's still sharp."
American Pharoah, ridden by Victor Espinoza, will take on seven
rivals as he looks to become just the 12th Triple Crown winner and
first since Affirmed swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont
Stakes in 1978.
The exhausting mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes is dubbed "Test of the
Champion" because it is the longest of the three classic U.S. races
and the final one.
Baffert knows the heartbreak, having saddled Triple Crown contenders
Real Quiet, Silver Charm and War Emblem, only to come up short each
time at Belmont Park -- in Real Quiet's case by mere inches.
American Pharoah, riding a six-race winning streak, won the May 2
Kentucky Derby by a length and two weeks later captured the
Preakness Stakes in a runaway, winning by seven lengths in a driving
rainstorm.
Baffert, who has saddled four Kentucky Derby winners, six Preakness
champions and one Belmont Stakes winner, described Friday's workout
as "the last hurdle" in American Pharoah's Triple regimen.
"All the work is done now," he said. "From here on, we'll try to
relax a little. We need to make sure the horse is content and
continues to eat well, and to stick to the same routine.
"And now we need to keep people away from him."
American Pharoah's credentials make him the race favorite, but that
may not mean much. He is the only horse to have run in the Derby and
Preakness and it is hard to ignore recent history.
A combined 14 horses have run in all three legs of the Triple Crown
since 2006 and all of them, including six favorites, lost the
Belmont Stakes.
Possible fatigue by American Pharoah could open the door for horses
like the Todd Pletcher-trained Florida Derby champion Materiality or
Wood Memorial winner Frosted, ridden by Joel Rosario and trained by
Kiaran McLaughlin.
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Baffert insists American Pharoah, who was named the 2-year-old
champion last year despite missing the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with
an injury, is the finest horse he has ever saddled.
"He's the best horse I've trained and he's my best hope for the
Triple Crown," said the silver-haired, 62-year-old Baffert.
"This horse has a different vibe than the others. He's shown that
he's a superior horse. He just needs to bring it one more time."
Trainer Nick Zito, whose two prior Belmont Stakes victories helped
end the Triple Crown dreams of Smarty Jones in 2004 and Big Brown in
2008, is saddling longshot Frammento on Saturday.
"You see American Pharoah and you say, 'Who's going to beat this
horse?'" he said. "But you've got to play the game and anything can
happen. That's why they have a word called longshot."
(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
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