American Pharoah was a bit of an unknown quantity heading into the Kentucky Derby. He looked like the horse to beat, but all of the races the 3-year-old colt had won came against competition clearly inferior. Churchill Downs gave him his first chance to prove he really was as good as he looked. Turns out, he was. Jockey Victor Espinoza let the pack set the pace, and Pharoah surged ahead at the final turn for an easy win.
Preakness Stakes 2015 contenders: All eyes will be on American Pharoah
The Kentucky Derby winner is a big favorite Saturday, but the race still has plenty of drama.
Espinoza will ride Pharoah again in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, and the second jewel of the Triple Crown -- half a furlong shorter than the Kentucky Derby -- favors American Pharoah even more heavily. Pharoah is a 4-5 morning line favorite, odds set despite Pharoah drawing the dreadful No. 1 post.
Still, in a race with just eight horses, drawing the inner-most rail is not a terrible fate for the favorite.
American Pharoah trainer Bob Baffert also has the race’s second choice, and the horse that stands to give Pharoah his biggest challenge right out of the gate. Dortmund, the Derby runner-up and morning line second choice at 3-1, will start right next to American Pharoah in the No. 2 gate.
Entering the Derby, Dortmund was the choice many prognosticators preferred to American Pharoah simply because Dortmund had excelled against better competition, and he had rallied to win races. The Derby is a race of survival: Survive the start without a hitch, survive the middle six furlongs, and then hope you have a push left in the homestretch and don’t fade.
The Preakness will be a little bit different, because it’s a bit shorter of a race -- it’s run a 1-3/16 miles instead of 1-1/4 mile -- and the field is more than 50 percent smaller (the Derby started at 18 horses as opposed to the Preakness’ scheduled eight). Pharoah has a chance to get a clean start, rumble down the track at Pimlico and finish with gas left in the tank, still surging.
Starting with Dortmund on one side and the rail on the other is probably the most intriguing result of Wednesday’s draw, and Saturday will tell once again if American Pharoah has the talent to navigate from yet another unique circumstance to allow his superior talent to shine through.
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