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Ode To The Pharoah


 Trying to find words to describe what American Pharoah means to the sport of horse racing is like telling a kid to only pick one thing at the candy shop. He gave this sport a much needed shot in the arm, and gave even the most rigid handicappers goosebumps. The horse accomplished more than any horse probably ever will accomplish ever again. 

 American Pharoah has been a real gift to racing, and thanks to his generous connections for allowing him to prove to us just how incredibly great he was on Saturday Oct. 31st. American Pharoah is undoubtedly your 2015 Horse of the Year and Champion 3yr Old Male capping off an incredible career that saw him win such races as, the GR1 Del Mar Futurity, GR1 Frontrunner Stakes, GR1 Arkansas Derby, The Triple Crown, GR1 Haskell, and finally the Breeders Cup Classic to become racing's first Grand Slam winner. He proved to everyone that yes indeed the Triple Crown is possible you just have to be an extremely exceptional racehorse.

 He showed that sometimes great horses can get beat, but almost always they come back with a vengeance. He is arguably the greatest racehorse I will ever see in my lifetime, and I so wish he could come back for a 4 year old campaign, but that is not in the cards. What is in the cards though is for him to stand at Ashford Stud in Versallies Kentucky where he will probably stand for a fee north of $90,000 he will be given life fit for a king which he has without question earned. Only time will tell if his offspring with have half his heart or half his ability, but if they have that they will be spectacular on the racetrack.

 American Pharoah is the embodiment of everything you want to see in a great racehorse he has the perfect temperament, a wonderful, and downright beautiful way of going that makes you know you are in the presence of greatness. He made the impossible possible, and proved that yes greatness can come around in plain brown package with a short tail. This horse made everyone in and around horse racing a believer in something magical, and other worldly. He made us believe for a short while anything, and everything is possible.

  He is certainly worth his weight in gold at this point after capturing the Grand Slam, and adding a fourth jewel to his already impressive crown. He earned a remarkable $8.6 million dollars, in a race career that saw him head to post 11 times with him coming out victorious an even more amazing 9 times, whats even more amazing is 8 of his wins were Grade 1 Stakes. He will be mentioned with the likes of Secretariat, Citation, Zenyatta, and many others. In his final start he gave us what was arguably the greatest performance of his remarkable career he proved he belonged to be mentioned in the same sentence as the horses listed above. This is one horse who will never be forgotten giving this sport something that only comes around every 37 years.

 Most of all though Pharoah gave people hope. Hope for a better future, hope that one day there will be another like him, hope that we will see another Triple Crown champion, hope that even though you have been beaten you can return with a fiery vengeance, hope that maybe just maybe this sport wont die. American Pharoah has given so much to each and everyone of us that follows, and loves this sport there are simply not enough words to say what he means to racing. Here's to you Pharoah I sure am going to miss watching you grace the track with that majestic stride that moved mountains, we all love you Pharoah  your a once in a lifetime horse, and good luck in your next career.




All photos courtesy of Keeneland's Facebook Page

 


 



 



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