American Pharoah Arrives in Saratoga Travers
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 732-747-8060 $ TDN Home Page Click Here AMERICAN PHAROAH ARRIVES IN SARATOGA TRAVERS UNDERCARD TAKES SHAPE by Mike Kane While Triple Crown winner American Pharoah With a police escort of New York State Troopers (Pioneerof the Nile) will certainly hog much of the leading the way from Albany International Airport, spotlight Saturday with his appearance in the American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile)=s road show $1.6-million GI Travers S., Saratoga will run five other arrived at Saratoga Race Course Wednesday afternoon. Grade I events leading up to that centerpiece, and Assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes said the another Grade II for good measure after the approximately 2,850-mile cross-country trip to run in AMidsummer Derby.@ The $1-million GI Sword Dancer the GI Travers S. on Saturday could not have gone S., one of several races added to the Travers undercard more smoothly. The 12th Triple Crown winner left his and one of four Breeders= Cup AWin and You=re In@ stall at Del Mar a 1:30 a.m. PST and walked off the qualifiers to be held Saturday, features globe-trotting truck at Barn 25 just after 3 p.m. EST, a span of 10 1/2 $5-million earner Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}). The hours. Andre Fabre trainee was second in last year=s American Pharoah vanned to Ontario International GI Breeders= Cup Turf. Champion Untapable (Tapit), Airport for a flight to Lexington, Ky. Some horses got upended by Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat) in the off and 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner GIIII Shuvee H. here Aug. 2, looks to bounce back in Funny Cide was led on for the second leg of the flight the GI Personal Ensign S. With 12 horses signed on, the to upstate New York. The final portion of the journey GI Forego S. for older sprinters is among the day=s most was a 29-mile van ride on Interstate 87, the Adirondack intriguing events. Speedy MGISW Private Zone (Macho Northway, to the track. Funny Cide will be paraded in Uno) will take on the likes of >TDN Rising Star= The Big the paddock before Thursday's program. Beast (Yes It=s True), winner of the GI King=s Bishop S. ATraveling with Pharoah, they make it very 12 months ago and most recently a neck second in the convenient for us,@ Barnes said. AWe=re like the last one GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. Aug. 1. A field of to show up at the plane and the first one off. 11 sophomore sprinters comprise the King=s Bishop, led Everybody has been very cooperative with that.@ by Competitive Edge (Super Saver), who cuts back to It was the 13th plane ride to compete this year for the trip over which he won last year=s GI Hopeful S., the Zayat Stables= homebred, who has accumulated lots and GII Amsterdam S. winner Holy Boss (Street Boss). of frequent flyer miles in his climb to the top of the La Verdad (Yes It=s True) seeks her first Grade I in the racing world. Ballerina S., but meets GI Humana Distaff S. heroine AHe handles shipping very well. Absolutely,@ Barnes Dame Dorothy (Bernardini). Fields p5-7 said. AHe=s shipped so many times now that he=s a pro.@ Barnes said the colt, who wears ear plugs while racing, has them in when he=s traveling or whenever he leaves the barn. The veteran horseman, and longtime assistant to trainer Bob Baffert, said he=s never seen a more resilient horse who can handle training, competing and traveling. Cont. p3 American Pharoah checks out new surroundings | MK Photo 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 DBS Vintage Renewal EDITORIAL [email protected] Draws to Close Editor-in-Chief: Jessica Martini Even when a yearling is a good-looking Managing Editor: Alan Carasso Senior Editor: Steve Sherack individual, significant pedigree updates make a Racing Editor: Brian DiDonato world of difference to a sales price, and everything Associate Editor: Justina Severni fell into place for a Pantile Stud-bred daughter of Associate Editor: Christie DeBernardis Paco Boy (Ire) (lot 286), who topped a vibrant Assistant Editor: Heather Anderson edition of the DBS Premier Sale at a Assistant Editor: Ben Massam record-equaling 280,000gns. Lot 286 | DBS ADVERTISING [email protected] Page 7 Director of Advertising: Alycia Borer Art Director: Lia Kusch Sr. Ad Coordinator/Dir. of Distribution: Gleneagles on Go For Sarah K. Andrew Advertising Designer: Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistant: Amanda Foster Irish Champion Social Media Strategist: Nichola Henry This year's dual Guineas winner Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) remains on-track for the CUSTOMER SERVICE Sept. 12 G1 Irish Champion S., provided the [email protected] ground goes in his favor. The Michael Tabor Dir. of Customer Service: Vicki Forbes colorbearer has been removed from the G1 Sussex INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY S., G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and G1 Juddmonte International in recent weeks after the ground Director of IT: Robert Williams Gleneagles galloping at [email protected] came up too soft. The Curragh Aug. 23 | Racing Post Director of Internal IT: Ray Villa [email protected] Page 10 WORLDWIDE INFORMATION International Editor: Kelsey Riley Also In This Issue... [email protected] Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing: Paddy Power, Betfair in Possible Merger.......................................................10 Sean Cronin & Tom Frary Stevens to Retire from Training......................................................................12 [email protected] Gains at OBSAUG........................................................................................RR 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 In Sharper Focus: Sylven Park......................................................................RR Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.thoroughbreddailynews.com www.thetdn.com EST Race Click for 12:40p Fairy Bridge S.-G3, Tip (Brisnet.com PPs) Headline News • PAGE 3 of 14 • thetdn.com Thursday • August 27, 2015 FEATURE PRESENTATION • GI TRAVERS S. American Pharoah Arrives cont. from p1 AI think he=s an exceptional case as far as being able to handle all of the shipping, keeping his weight well, keep eating,@ Barnes said. AWhen you need to go back and forth from the East Coast to the West Coast they could back off their feed and lighten up on you. He pretty much gained weight. It hasn=t been an issue at all. It=s been nice.@ American Pharoah & Barnes | MK Photo Top-level racing has been part of culture in the Capital Region of New York since the Civil War, but the news that the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years AAt the airport there was a large reception,@ Barnes would compete in the Travers has ratcheted up the said. AAlong the freeway people were pulled over. It interest in Saratoga=s signature race. The Time Warner was the same at Churchill [Downs] when we came newschannel provided live coverage of the arrival of back from the Belmont.@ American Pharoah=s flight to Albany--much as it would Barnes had handled lots of Baffert standouts through if the President was coming to town--and a few dozen the years, but has never seen as horse receive rock members of the media were at trainer John Terranova=s star-type treatment. barn to report on the end of the journey. Cont. p4 Headline News • PAGE 4 of 14 • thetdn.com Thursday • August 27, 2015 American Pharoah cont. AYou just really have to enjoy it because he=s only going to be around so long, and when this is all over I=m sure we=re going to miss him,@ Barnes said. AAt times it gets a little hectic, but you=ve just got to sit back and just enjoy it. You=re blessed to be here.@ Barnes said the colt will go to track Thursday morning for some light training. His morning workout between 8:45 and 9:00 a.m. Friday is open to the public. It=s a pretty safe bet that it will draw a large crowd. American Pharoah, the 1-5 favorite, will start from post two American Pharoah gets a bath | MK Photo in the 10-horse Travers, scheduled for 5:46 p.m. and part of NBC=s live coverage from 4:00 to 6 p.m. After he got off the van from the airport, American Pharoah was walked around the ring under the ancient trees outside Terranova=s barn, and given a bath. Forty-five minutes after Barnes led him down the ramp, showing no signs of being worn out by the trip, he was in his stall. All in a day=s work for the American Pharoah road show. AHe adjusts,@ Barnes said. AHe=s probably adjusted right now. You could lead him over and run him. I really think he adjusts very easily. AWe=d like to get him over the track. He likes a deeper-style track so this track should be fine. He likes the eastern tracks. All his racing has been on basically eastern tracks, other than a synthetic track (Del Mar) and Santa Anita. It=s hard to believe. You think back to all his races, he has really only had two at home. The rest of the time he had to ship everywhere to run.@ Saturday, Saratoga, post time: 5:46 p.m. EDT TRAVERS S.-GI, $1,600,000, 3yo, 1 1/4m PP HORSE SIRE JOCKEY TRAINER ML 1 Upstart Flatter Ortiz Jr. Violette Jr. 15-1 2 American Pharoah Pioneerof the Nile Espinoza Baffert 1-5 3 Mid Ocean Mineshaft Franco Weaver 50-1 4 Texas Red K Afleet Alex Desormeaux Desormeaux 8-1 5 Frammento K Midshipman Ortiz Zito 30-1 6 Frosted Tapit Rosario McLaughlin 6-1 7 Keen Ice K Curlin Castellano Romans 12-1 8 Tale of Verve K Tale of Ekati Stevens Stewart 30-1 9 King of New York K Street Boss Leparoux McPeek 50-1 10 Smart Transition Smart Strike Velazquez Shirreffs 20-1 Headline News • PAGE 5 of 14 • thetdn.com Thursday • August 27, 2015 Sword Dancer Stakes Saturday, Saratoga, post time: 5:04 p.m.