BAFFERT LOOKING AHEAD for PHAROAH >STELLAR= AGAIN
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MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 732-747-8060 $ TDN Home Page Click Here BAFFERT LOOKING AHEAD FOR PHAROAH >STELLAR= AGAIN IN THE TORREY PINES by Mike Kane Hronis Racing=s Stellar Wind (Curlin) has had nothing In comments Sunday morning, trainer Bob Baffert short of an exceptional season. The chestnut took both talked as if Triple Crown winner American Pharoah the GII Santa Ysabel S. (Pioneerof the Nile)=s racing career will continue beyond Feb. 28 and GI Santa his loss in the Travers S. Anita Oaks Apr. 4 going While it is owner Ahmed Zayat=s call on whether 1 1/16 miles in Arcadia. American Pharaoh She closed decisively to will be retired, finish fourth as the something he favorite behind Lovely speculated on Maria (Majesticperfection) following the race when stretching out to Saturday at 1 1/8 miles in the Saratoga Race Stellar Wind takes the GIII Torrey GI Kentucky Oaks Course, Baffert Pines S. | Benoit Photo May 1 and was given offered a far more almost a two-month positive take 15 break after that run. She returned with a nose victory in hours later. He the GII Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita June 20 and acknowledged that has been on the bench since. the demands of American Pharoah and Bob Baffert Sunday Away without incident as the 1-2 chalk, the chestnut traveling from at Saratoga | Mike Kane tracked the pace set by Ultimate Holiday (Harlan=s California to the Holiday) through a half-mile in :46.43 and moved closer East Coast twice this summer probably caught up with to turn up the pressure approaching the far turn. American Pharoah in the 146th Travers. Baffert said he Seizing control on the bend, she opened up a sizeable would likely train the colt up to the Breeders= Cup advantage and reported 4/14 lengths clear of Big Book Classic and not put him on the road for another race in (Mr. Big) under minimal urging. AShe's classy; she the interim. showed that,@ said pilot Victor Espinoza. AAnd I Before a scheduled meeting with the media, Baffert changed her style a little bit today. I wanted to keep my inspected the bay, walked him a bit and let people position going into that first turn, so I moved her up gathered near Barn 25 pet him and feed him some baby with the speed. And she was comfortable there. So I carrots. said: 'OK, let's just keep doing this.' She responded AHe looks great today,@ Baffert said. AAccording to the well and won like we hoped she would.@ Cont. p6 sheet guys, he was the play against. He was supposed to bounce, which he did. That=s what they do. He could come back and freshen up and run. I don=t think he tailed off, I think he just didn=t bring his >A= game. If you look at him, he still looks pretty healthy. He doesn=t look like a tired horse.@ Shortly after Keen Ice (Curlin) collared American Pharoah in the stretch, Zayat said it was his gut feeling that it might be time to retire the colt. When the question of retirement came up Sunday, Baffert tempered Zayat=s comments by putting them in perspective. AMr. Zayat is a very emotional man,@ Baffert said. AWe were all pretty disappointed. We were like in shock. We were surprised he got beat. We weren=t really prepared for a losing speech. When we hit it, it was like, we=ve just got to get through this.@ Cont. p3 TDN TODAY Headline News.. 14 pages IN THIS ISSUE President & Co-Publisher: Barry Weisbord [email protected] @barryweisbord Sr. V.P. & Co-Publisher: Sue Finley [email protected] @suefinley V.P., International Operations: Gary King [email protected] @garykingTDN EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief: Jessica Martini Managing Editor: Alan Carasso Senior Editor: Steve Sherack Racing Editor: Brian DiDonato Associate Editor: Justina Severni Associate Editor: Christie DeBernardis Assistant Editor: Heather Anderson Assistant Editor: Ben Massam ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising: Alycia Borer Art Director: Lia Kusch Sr. Ad Coordinator/Dir. of Distribution: Sarah K. Andrew Advertising Designer: Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistant: Amanda Foster Social Media Strategist: Nichola Henry American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and Bob Baffert CUSTOMER SERVICE Sunday morning at Saratoga. | Mike Kane [email protected] Dir. of Customer Service: Vicki Forbes Private Zone ‘Super’ After Forego INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Director of IT: Robert Williams Multiple Grade I-winning multimillionaire Private Zone (Macho Uno) has come out of [email protected] his 3 3/4-length GI Forego S. victory well, according to trainer Jorge Navarro. Although the bay earned a berth into the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint with Saturday's win, Navarro is Director of Internal IT: Ray Villa already considering the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt instead. [email protected] Page 5 WORLDWIDE INFORMATION ‘Valid’ Win in the Iselin International Editor: Kelsey Riley [email protected] Valid (Medaglia d’Oro) was finally able to turn the tables on Bradester (Lion Heart) in the GIII Philip Iselin S. at Monmouth Sunday. Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing: Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] Page 6 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 A Day at Seoul Racepark Red Bank, NJ 07701 Lucas Marquardt checks in from Seoul Racepark where he writes that he left the track 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) “both impressed and inspired... I wasn't expecting a sprawling, relatively modern track www.thoroughbreddailynews.com www.thetdn.com with seating-*seating*-for 77,000. And I wasn't expecting the grounds to be so well planned out and aesthetically appealing.” Page 11 Headline News • PAGE 3 of 14 • thetdn.com Monday • August 31, 2015 Baffert said Zayat deserves credit for running FEATURE PRESENTATION • GI TRAVERS S. American Pharoah in the Travers. AHe brought him up here. You really have to thank him,@ Baffert said. AHe wanted to share him. He=s a sportsman for bringing him up here and sharing him with Saratoga. He did it for racing, and it didn=t work out. We rolled the dice and it didn=t work out, but he almost pulled it off. He was just valiant in defeat and he was trying so hard. He was empty, empty, at the top of the stretch and he was still trying to win. I still thought there was a chance.@ BAFFERT LOOKING AHEAD FOR PHAROAH American Pharoah prevailed in the duel with Frosted, (cont. from p1) who had pressed him through a testing second half mile American Pharoah is scheduled to fly back to in :46.78, but could not hold off late-running Keen Ice. California--it will be his 14th flight since March--on As the crowd of 50,000 at the Graveyard of Favorites Monday morning and will return to his stall at Baffert=s gasped, American Pharoah finished second by barn at Del Mar. Baffert said Zayat--who returned to three-quarters of a length. California after the Travers--has not decided on whether It was disappointing, Baffert said. I really thought to keep the colt in training for the $5 million Classic, A @ A he was going to do it. I could tell down the backside he the scheduled final start of his career. wasn t really as powerful as he usually looks. The trip, ABasically, we=ll let the horse tell us what he=s doing,@ = Baffert said. AI really don=t know what the thought is. I coming back here, took a little starch out of him.@ know he=ll be going back and forth.@ Still, Baffert was pleased that American Pharoah Zayat has said throughout the year that he defers to showed grit and did not pack it in, as stablemate Baffert on training and racing matters, but the Hall of Bayern has done at times, when things didn=t go his Fame trainer described himself as more of an advisor. way. AAhmed Zayat, it=s his horse,@ Baffert said. AMy job is AIt was one of those things where he didn=t if I see something, if he were to come up with embarrass us,@ Baffert said. AIf he would have stopped something I didn=t like, then I=d tell him. Nothing has and run fifth, sixth, seventh, you could have scraped shown up today. We=re glad that he looked fine and me off the track. I would have been so mad at myself he=s healthy. I didn=t see any problem there.@ for bringing him. He ran a good race. Then Baffert joked about how he would deal with AIt was exciting, the whole town, Pharoahtoga, American Pharoah after he gets back to Del Mar. everybody. Last night, I kept running into people and all AWe=ll just probably take him and throw him in the they could say was thank you for bringing him. The Pacific Ocean there,@ he said. ALike the old days, get on horse has done so much for the excitement of racing, bareback and ride him in the waves.@ building it up. It was actually one of the most positive After American Pharoah won the Haskell Invitational losses I=ve ever seen. We walked into a restaurant last on Aug. 2 at Monmouth, Baffert gave him time to night and everybody gave me a standing ovation for recover from the race and work twice before bringing him up. It was pretty cool.@ committing to the Travers. He said he doesn=t regret American Pharoah showed the effects of a the decision to come to Saratoga. demanding race, Baffert said, and was blowing hard AHe tried.