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2015 TRIPLE CROWN (Entire Televised Broadcasts) - AMERICAN PHAROAH
AMERICAN PHAROAH put an emphatic exclamation point on the 2015 Triple Crown with a runaway victory at Belmont Park in the 147th Belmont Stakes, romping by 5-1/2 lengths in front of a crowd of 90,000 and in doing so being crowned the 12th Triple Crown winner in racing history.
He thus ended the longest drought in Triple Crown history, 37 years, since AFFIRMED in 1978. And he proved that, indeed, this feat is achievable, as long as a horse comes along capable of doing it.
But in the years since AFFIRMED, 13 horses prior to AMERICAN PHAROAH had won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness but could not complete the sweep. The cumulative effect of three races in five weeks, plus the preps, proved too much of a hurdle to conquer.
AMERICAN PHAROAH cleared it and was the only horse this year who competed in all three legs of the Triple Crown.
This was the fourth attempt at a Triple Crown for trainer Bob Baffert, who had failed with SILVER CHARM (1997), REAL QUIET (1998), and WAR EMBLEM (2002). And it was the third try for rider Victor Espinoza, who failed with WAR EMBLEM and CALIFORNIA CHROME (2014).
Their failed bid 13 years ago in concert with WAR EMBLEM is now a fading memory, as AMERICAN PHAROAH – bred and owned by Ahmed Zayat – ran his way into the record books in a performance that left no doubt as to his superiority.
The win was the seventh straight for AMERICAN PHAROAH, who lost his debut last year and was unbeaten since. He was named the champion 2-year-old male of 2014 and had won all five of his starts.
Zayat bred AMERICAN PHAROAH by uniting his sire PIONEEROF THE NILE with his mare LITTLEPRINCESSEMMA, a daughter of YANKEE GENTLEMAN. “He’s just an amazing horse,” Espinoza said. “It’s unbelievable how things work out. I have so much confidence in AMERICAN PHAROAH.”
“Everybody came to see something great,” Baffert said at a post-race press conference, “and we witnessed it.” Baffert said the Triple Crown was swept by AMERICAN PHAROAH because “it takes a great horse to do it. You have to have the horse,” he said. “He’s a very special horse. I didn’t win it. He’s the one that won it.”
When AMERICAN PHAROAH came back toward the grandstand after pulling up after the race, Espinoza took him all the way up the stretch so that fans seated throughout the grandstand could see him one last time before he headed to the winner’s circle. As AMERICAN PHAROAH was brought down Belmont Park’s victory lane toward the winner’s circle, track announcer Larry Collmus introduced him to the crowd as “racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner,” and the fans let out an appreciative roar.
Watch all the action unfold in this year's renewal of the Triple Crown which ended in jubilation as AMERICAN PHAROAH gains elite entry into the hallowed halls of Triple Crown glory!!
Other notable horses who valiantly chased AMERICAN PHAROAH in vain through the Triple Crown races were OCHO OCHO OCHO, CARPE DIEM, MATERIALITY, TENCENDUR, DANZIG MOON, MUBTAAHIJ, DORTMUND, BOLO, FIRING LINE, ITSAKNOCKOUT, KEEN ICE, FROSTED, WAR STORY, MR. Z, UPSTART, FAR RIGHT, FRAMMENTO, TALE OF VERVE, BODHISATTVA, DIVINING ROD and MADEFROMLUCKY.
FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF THE ENTIRE 2015 KENTUCKY DERBY, PREAKNESS AND BELMONT FIELDS, JUST REQUEST A COPY AND A COMPILATION SHEET ALONG WITH THE 1,2,3 FINISHERS WILL BE E-MAILED TO YOU.
(5 Hours and 42 Minutes)
Listing Info: | |
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Listing ID: | 1389 |
Format(s) Available: | DVD And VHS |
Category: | U.S. & Canadian Flat Racing |