American Pharoah Returns: Looking for More History

Of course, in this game, we all like to get ahead of ourselves and think three and four races down the road. Everyone is thinking about the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which this year is held at Keeneland, yet another historical place where champions run. As long as he’s healthy we know he’ll be there for that one. His final prep race for the Classic is still up in the air between what looks to be the Pennsylvania Derby or the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. Either race has it’s benefits. My guess is the Awesome Again Stakes will be the choice. It’s in California (his home) and it’s against older horses which is yet another hurdle serious racing fans want to see him jump.

There is still one question nobody seems to be asking. Who can beat this horse? I think this is important to address because this is horse racing and anything can happen. As far as the Haskell goes I guess you could make a small case for Competitive Edge who flopped in a big way last time out in the Woody Stephens. The Haskell will be his first race around two turns, and if he can get back to his solid form he could enjoy the distance on the front end of things. Frosted and Texas Red are two other obvious candidates who could challenge American Pharoah. However, not on Sunday. This would most likely happen in the Travers. Both of those horses run this Saturday in the Jim Dandy against what is shaping up to be a solid field. How about the older horses? What if Honor Code can go long? He probably looms to be the biggest challenger of that bunch as of now with both California Chrome and Shared Belief on the sidelines. That division might start to clear up a bit with races like the Whitney and Pacific Classic right around the corner.

In the end maybe it won’t matter who the competition is because maybe he’s just that good. What can get this horse beat? He’s already shown that he can relax behind horses so I can’t envision a speed dual wearing him down. We also know quite well if the pace is slow he’ll just take things over on the front end. We could be getting ready to see the single greatest one year campaign in racing history. I will entertain debates that horses in the past could have beat him. We’ll never know that. However, if he goes on to win the Haskell, Travers, Awesome Again and Breeders’ Cup Classic there is no debate. He will have accomplished the greatest single year campaign in the history of the game.

Enjoy this ride. A horse like this won’t come around again for a very long time.