American Pharoah: The Dudes’ Derby Pick

One concern that is total insanity is the fact that some still believe the horse can’t rate. This criticism is coming from people who are either blind or just flat in denial. Let’s look at his last race, the Arkansas Derby, as a perfect example of why this shouldn’t be a problem.

Bridget’s Big Luvy sprints away to a fast pace and American Pharoah sits off of him without any trouble whatsoever. Jockey Victor Espinoza didn’t even have to move a muscle to get him to relax. American Pharoah did it all on his own. He is the type of horse that just wants to go out and run his normal fractions. If he’s on the lead that’s fine, but if he’s not that’s fine too.

Maybe my word isn’t enough for you. Let’s see what other trainers, clockers, racing experts and even the owners are saying about him:

“He’s special. His style intrigues me. I don’t see any limitation with that long stride, the way he moves and his acceleration that keeps him out of trouble, which is part of the equation.” –D. Wayne Lukas

“I have been doing this for 35 years, and he might be the best horse I’ve ever seen. He’s simply like Michael Jordan and stays in the air like he did in his rookie year. He stays in the air longer than any horse and you get the feeling that there’s not one gear left, but he may have two, three or four gears.” –Gary Young

“They saved the best for last and it was surely worth the wait all week to finally see AMERICAN PHAROAH strut his stuff this morning, leaving little doubt he is the horse to beat in this year’s Derby after a dazzling five furlong breeze.” –Mike Welsch

“When he started breezing, honestly we were scared. This horse was like two seconds faster than anything else. He was doing everything so easy. We could not believe how fast he was going-and he was not even trying. It was insane. Then when (trainer Bob) Baffert got him, he said, ‘Ahmed, this is the fastest two-year-old I ever got.'” –Ahmed Zayat

Now all that’s left for him is to live up to this massive hype. I said to many people after his Arkansas Derby romp that he has the potential to be the best horse I’ve ever seen. I’ve followed this game since 2007 and his performance in the Arkansas Derby was the best I’ve ever seen. Even better than Curlin’s performance…which was unbelievable and the reason I became a horse racing fan. However, potential doesn’t mean a horse will actually became a one of the greatest of all-time. Like Curlin and the other great horses throughout history, you have to go out and prove it on the track. Greatness and potential greatness are two very different things. Greatness has to be earned. American Pharoah can take the next step towards greatness on Saturday. We believe in him. It’s time for him to go out there and do his thing and prove us right.