I remember Affirmed and what made him so great was he had a super competitor in Alydar and Alydar forced him to be top notch in all 3 races. AP didn't have a rival up to par. However, AP was dominated all 3 races and it would have been nice to see how good he could have been if he had. I think he would have risen to the occassion because the horse seems like he has the competitive spirit.
The Belmont
- Thread starter KYBorn&Raised
- Start date
Great race. He really didn't even look challenged. First time seeing a crown winner in my lifetime. Amazing.
A review of the GOAT Belmont Stakes.
I agree in part with this because it wasn't the horses fault what the owner did and I can't stand how the media has to take every good thing that happens and exploit the tiny negative but calling the guy a miserable arse certainly isn't warranted.
No, 2nd fastest horse, in the Belmont, to win the triple crown. Other belmont winners, like Risen Star, had faster times. The announcers were a bit wrong.
While walking down to the winners circle Baffert looked like he was ready to get it all over so he could go have a bologna sandwich.
I was fixing to type the exact same thing. The horse is the winner and put forth the effort and had the will to win. It wasnt his owner running out their.
In the grand scheme of things I wonder how training is different now compared to say 80 years ago? I'm sure today with modern science and vet care that these horses should be breaking rcords all the time. Especially with sective breeding like is, But yet it isn't.
It's the same thing many on here argue with me about. That people are more athletic today than they were 40 years ago. I of course laugh at that notion. I guess people will be flying in 100 years by flapping their ears.
Yes, I mentioned that but still wasn't convinced he was a super horse. I just got to watch the race a few minutes ago. He is, clearly, a super horse. Only about 5.5 lengths slower than Secretariat - that is almost unbelievable. My apologies AP, you deserve the triple crown.
If you noticed, I said in my original post that the race was over by the time I even posted. I didn't know what happened. I just watched it a few minutes ago. AP was fantastic and clearly a super horse.
It was a great moment to watch with one of my boys even though it was on an iPhone screen at the ballpark. I was 3 at the time of the last one, so he and I saw our first triple crown together. Good times. Would love to see this horse keep racing, but we know how that works now ...
The WTF moment of the day: Anyone else catch the shot of the Burger King dude giving the camera the double thumbs up behind Baffert in the stands before the race started?
I got the feeling he couldve ran an even faster time had he been pushed. Wire to wire and made it look effortless. An all time great horse.
The amount of unnecessary marketing in this event really bugged me. The BK guy behind Baffert, everyone involved with the horse wearing either Monster hats or "Wheels Up" hats. Espinoza constantly holding up the Monster drink, even drinking from one during his victory lap. It was all in your face and way too much for me. It is one thing to have sponsors, but to push the product so much was very annoying.
Yea, it was pretty crazy. He was pulling away and I don't think that Espinoza even went to the whip until about halfway down the stretch. It seemed to me like AP wanted to run in that race and Espinoza had to do a whole lot to keep him from just taking off. This is really one of the first horses I've seen that I thought was really deserving of the TC. He had the competition and he rose above that. He wasn't just an above average horse in a year where the competition was poor... he is (or can be) one of the greats. Glad he finished the job. Now I'd like to see him actually continue to compete rather than just head to the breeding stable, but I am not holding my breath.
The Burger King guy also came out with Floyd Mayweather. Dude's a winner. We need him to come out with the Cats in the Final Four from now on.
Weren't there issues with the trainer as well? Have a few friends deep into the racing culture and I guess this guy really toes the line in terms of ethics and horse treatment. None of them even mentioned the owner, but I guess the trainer is pretty shady?
never heard that about Baffert ever. Some KY people begrudge Bob because he is a California horseman and not a KY boy. Beyond that anyone that is worth anything should of seen Pharoh coming. I had a 9-1 future on the Derby on him, Preakness bet, and today, I'm 29 and consider myself a horse guy and from the jump there was no question he was the best horse I'd seen since Point Given, not ready to call him better but if he can win the Travers, Haskell, Breeders Cup, we'll talk. I will say this in his favor though, Point Given got a terrible, horrible, race in the Derby and couldn't overcome it and came in 4th, Pharoh got a pretty bad Derby ride and still did it. The other impressive thing, Dortmund, Firing Line, Frosted, Materiality, and others were unbelievable horses, wasn't like AP beat a chump field. Great horse, great day for the sport.
That was a thrilling event. I was glad to see him do it. Plus, Pharoah was born and bred in Kentucky, near Winchester. So that makes it a little extra special. He sure made that California horse from last year's owner look stupid, after he whined about how there would never be another TC winner. No horse in the race yesterday other than Pharoah raced in all three races. So he beat horses much fresher than he was, and did it convincingly. Per my research, it was the 7th fastest time in Belmont history, since it went to a mile and a half permanently in 1926. Still 2.65 seconds off Secretariat's record though.
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John Clay@johnclayiv 2h2 hours ago
Bob Baffert said this morning plan is to run American Pharoah in Breeder's Cup Classic at Keeneland. "That's the goal," he said.
Bob Baffert said this morning plan is to run American Pharoah in Breeder's Cup Classic at Keeneland. "That's the goal," he said.
I thought for sure that would be his last race. Why risk an injury that could jeopardize the millions they will make in stud fees ever year?
I just figured it up. If it goes another 37 yrs until another Triple Crown, I will be be 98 yrs old. Hope I can get tickets.
Well I've seen four TC winners now, so I shouldn't complain.
Well I've seen four TC winners now, so I shouldn't complain.
Owner has said he will continue to race this year assuming he stays healthy.
It would be interesting to see him run in the BC Classic at Keeneland in the fall !!
It would be interesting to see him run in the BC Classic at Keeneland in the fall !!
Secretariat ran several more races after the triple crown. Remember, these are 3 year olds we're talking about. Sorta like freshmen playing freshmen. They need some races against older competition to really prove things. Imo, which may be totally wrong.
I agree. This horse deserves to have an easy life the rest of his days giving the gift of babies lol. He has been worked to death the past 5 weeks plus and has proven himself....let him ride off into the sunset.
I don't think it would have mattered but I'm a little surprised nobody pushed him more early. 48 and 4 for a half mile is pretty pedestrian even for a mile and a half race
I thought about that this weekend, the folks at Keeneland had to be jumping for joy as he hit the wire, first TC winner to ever run in the Classic, and it is right here in Lexington! Will be a hell of a weekend, for sure.