American Pharoah was being hailed in some quarters as a potential superhorse when he came into the Kentucky Derby to face one of its strongest fields in years. He appeared poised to live up to that extravagant billing as he turned into the Churchill Downs stretch and moved abreast of his two main rivals, Firing Line and Dortmund.
When American Pharoah prevailed by 1 length over Firing Line, he proved he is a worthy winner of America's greatest race -- fast, versatile and consistent. But a realist would have to say calling him a superhorse is unwarranted and any talk of a Triple Crown is premature. The 141st Derby showcased a deep, gifted generation of 3-year-olds, not a single dominating talent.
American Pharoah had scored his previous stakes victories with the aid of perfect setups, twice taking an early lead without any serious pressure. Handicappers wondered how he would cope with a hot pace in the Derby. Frequently in the oversized Derby field, speedsters are hustled out of the gate and set a pace so fast that it ruins the chances of all the leaders. Though there was plenty of speed in Saturday's race, no such scenario developed.
The fast, undefeated colt Materiality -- who might have set the pace -- broke a length behind the field and never got into early contention. "I got eliminated out of the gate," jockey Javier Castellano said. The speedy Mr. Z wasn't hustled by Ramon Vazquez and then got caught in traffic at the first turn; he was never a factor.
Other horses encountered traffic trouble at that turn, too, but Dortmund, Firing Line and American Pharoah all secured clean trips. As they rounded the first turn, they separated themselves from the rest of the 18-horse pack. And they did so without excessive exertion, running the first quarter in 23.24 seconds and the half mile in 47.34. Although the Churchill track was slower than normal, this was still an easy pace, and it enabled the three to dominate the race.
American Pharoah was in the best position of the three. He is a natural front-runner, but as jockey Victor Espinoza thought about the Kentucky Derby weeks ago, he told himself, "If I'm going to be on the lead, they're going to go after me." So in the Arkansas Derby, he let American Pharoah sit behind another speed horse before he took command. That successful experiment gave him the confidence that he could sit behind Dortmund and Firing Line. It was basically the same position from which he won last year's Derby on California Chrome.
With American Pharoah's stablemate Dortmund in front, jockey Gary Stevens and Firing Line had the task of putting pressure on the leader. As the tempo accelerated mid-race, Espinoza continued to stalk his two adversaries -- yet another perfect trip. Then he swung wide entering the stretch and asked American Pharoah to give everything he had.
He had just enough. Dortmund was the first to weaken. Firing Line was tired, too, but American Pharoah couldn't blow past him. He gradually wore down the tenacious colt through a final quarter mile in a pedestrian 26.53 seconds. The slow finish underscores the fact that few U.S. racehorses -- even the best of them -- are bred to run 1 1/4 miles.
Although the three leaders were decelerating in the final furlong, none of their rivals made an impact on the race. But one also-ran nevertheless delivered a notable performance. Materiality, who had scored a brilliant front-running victory in the Florida Derby, lost any chance of winning Saturday when he broke slowly and was shuffled back to the rear of the field. Yet he didn't give up. In the final quarter he rallied from 17th place to finish sixth, only 7 1/2 lengths behind the winner. He is going to be one of the stars of his generation. (So, too, may his Todd Pletcher-trained stablemate, Competitive Edge, who stayed unbeaten with a stakes victory at Churchill on Saturday.)
The pre-Derby assessment of this generation was correct; it is an admirable group. The top three finishers verified that they are paragons of consistency. American Pharoah, Dortmund and Firing Line have never lost a race at a mile or more except to each other. The Beyer Speed Figure of 105 for the Derby was the best in the last six years, and these colts will be running much faster as they mature and as they compete at slightly shorter distances.
Racing fans annually hope to see a 3-year-old establish himself as a genuine great horse who could win the Triple Crown. But even if American Pharoah doesn't fulfill those hopes, the 3-year-old Class of 2015 ought to generate plenty of excitement for the sport.
Sports on 05/05/2015