Belmont Stakes: Baffert, American Pharoah handling the pressure

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For a man on the verge of making racing history, now less than one week away from attempting to complete the Triple Crown on Saturday with American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes, trainer Bob Baffert couldn’t have been more relaxed or in better spirits than he was Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.

Baffert flew in from California on Saturday evening to watch American Pharoah put in a routine 1 3/8-mile gallop at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, a prelude to his final work before the Belmont, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday. American Pharoah looked as professional as always on Sunday, just cruising around the one-mile oval at an even pace, neck bowed, switching leads on cue, and a picture of health despite being in the home stretch of the taxing Triple Crown run.  “He looks happy out there. He enjoys what he’s doing,” said Baffert. “All you can do at this point is to keep them healthy. I could get him around there two miles at a two-minute clip if I wanted, but that’s not going to help him now. All that’s going to do is weaken him. If he’s not fit enough for this race, he’s never going to be.”

Baffert said one thing in American Pharoah’s favor is that he has been able to maintain his weight since his final Derby prep in the Arkansas Derby nearly eight weeks ago. “He weighed the same after the Preakness as he did going into the Arkansas Derby,” said Baffert. “And he’s about nine pounds heavier now. He’s been smooth right along. That’s the thing about him. The same was true for Silver Charm and Real Quiet. We never had a hiccup with any of them." Baffert said the one element of doubt going into the Belmont Stakes, as everyone knows is the distance, but he believes American Pharoah’s demeanor and way of traveling gives him an advantage over the others. “You never know if any of them really want to go a mile and one half. We’re all in the same boat when it comes to that,” said Baffert. “But his stride is so fluid and so efficient, it’s easier for him. He wastes less energy than most horses who hit the ground hard. And he’ll relax too. So I think he’ll be able to handle it just fine. But the Belmont is a wacky race. You always seem to get some wacko horse who shows up. A good allowance horse can win the Belmont. A horse like that can’t win the Derby or the Preakness.”

Baffert said he himself is much more relaxed going into the Belmont, even with a Triple Crown on the line, than he was five weeks earlier prior to the Kentucky Derby. “The Derby is nothing but pressure, pressure because it’s the biggest obstacle,” said Baffert. “And before the Preakness, I thought he looked good, but you never know for sure. I would have taken him home if he’d have gotten beat there. The Belmont, with the Triple Crown thing, it’s not about me, it’s about the horse, about him and history. Everybody remembers Secretariat, but few remember who trained him. And I couldn’t tell you another horse Steve Cauthen rode, but I remember Affirmed. This is all about American Pharoah, not me. And I think so highly of him, he’s such a good horse, he really deserves it.”

Baffert admitted his nerves will get a little on edge when the horses walk onto the track late Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park and the band starts playing “New York, New York”. “When they start playing that New York song, it really gets me fired up, and it especially will this year,” said Baffert. “The Kentucky song, before the Derby, it’s more for history, more emotional. To me it’s the two minute warning. When I hear the New York song, it’s like this is it, the show is coming to an end. It has everybody pumped up, it’s saying ‘let’s down one more beer and let’s get with it.’ ”

American Pharoah was joined on the track after the renovation break on Sunday by Keen Ice, the only other prospective Belmont starter training at Churchill Downs. Keen Ice jogged seven furlongs then reversed direction and galloped twice around, two miles, picking up the pace appreciably during the final half-mile before pulling up where he began at the top of the stretch. “His energy level is high. His fitness is as good as he can get. There’s no excuse for him in this race unless he’s just not good enough,” said trainer Dale Romans, who plans to blow out Keen Ice Tuesday morning prior to shipping him to New York later that day.