Story and Photos by Art Petrosemolo
OCEANPORT – More than 60,000 veteran and first-time racing fans jammed Monmouth Park August 2, for the 48th running of the $1.75 million William Hill Haskell Invitational. They weren’t disappointed.
Triple Crown winner and super horse American Pharoah put on a show dominating the seven horse field over one and one-eight miles on the dirt track under sunny skies and a New Jersey summer heat wave with temperatures in the high eighties.
Clad in Zayat turquoise and gold silks, California based jockey VIctor Espinoza and the Pharoah were easy to spot leaving the staring gate in front of the grandstand, all the way around the track into the homestretch where the crowds’ screaming almost drowned out announcer Frank Mirahmadi.
Trainer Bob Baffert who won his eighth Haskell Invitation had said pre-race that American Pharoah was training well and he was right on the money. Justin Zayat, the owner’s son, who manages the Zayat racing operations talked, at a pre-race post position press conference about the big horse’s consistency in training.
Comments by the trainer and owner and race predictions by handicappers and fans held true as Pharoah ran the race everyone expected. Breaking well from the gate, he was between the leader Competitive Edge, trained by Todd Pletcher, and Edward Plesa trained Mr. Jordon at the first turn. Sitting off the pace, until the turn for home, he shifted easily into a higher gear and with the shouts of the crowd, headed for home not to be challenged. Pharoah won by 2 1/4 lengths in a time of 1:47.4 Pharoah closing odds were $.10 on the dollar and he paid $2.20 for a $2 win wager. However thousands of tickets were bought as souvenirs and were never cashed.
Finishing second to Pharoah was Keen Ice, third in the Belmont, ridden by Kent Desormeaux and Upstart, ridden by Monmouth Park favorite Joe Bravo was third.
Announcer Mirahmadi who called the horse’s win April 8th in the Arkansas Derby lead up to the Triple Crown races, said post-Haskell, “American Pharoah gave the crowd what they came for. He is the best horse in the world and no thoroughbred, of any age, can come close to him.”
Lines formed at 6 a.m. for the track’s 9 a.m. opening when fans rushed for space in the picnic area and planted beach chairs along the fence by the finish line. The reserved seats, grandstand, clubhouse and picnic area were packed for the 5:50 p.m. race televised by NBC.
When American Pharoah came to the paddock to be saddled by trainer Bob Baffert, fans were 12-deep at the rail trying to get a glimpse of the horse, rider Espinoza and New Jersey owner Ahmed Zayat as Paddock Judge Cookie Jones got the field saddled and around the walking ring to the tunnel leading to the track.
A roar rose from racing fans as the chestnut colt, out of Pioneer of the Nile, stepped onto the groomed racing surface – to the strains of Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run – and paraded before the crowd on the way to the starting gate. The horse known for its huge, ground-covering stride walked quietly, next to a pony, under the hand of jockey Espinoza who has ridden the thoroughbred throughout his undefeated 2015 three-year old season. With the Haskell win, the horse is undefeated in his last 10 starts dating back to September 2014 including eight wins in 2015.
The Haskell is named for 20th century New York businessman and horseman Amory Lawrence Haskell. Monmouth’s former Monmouth Handicap was renamed for Mr. Haskell in 1968 two years after his death. It is the richest invitational horseracing event in North America.
When veteran Monmouth Park starter John Daniels released the Haskell field, Pharoah, there was a roar from the grandstand as the seven horses jockeyed for position before the first turn as lengthening shadows moved over part of the track.
Following the win, Espinoza took Pharoah for a long cool down jog to the backstretch and then was lead by an outrider back in front of the grandstand to the delight and cheers of the fans before arriving outside the winner’s circle and being greeted by more than 50 photographers from as far away as Australia.
If Espinoza and Baffert orchestrated Pharoah’s race, they had less success in the post-race presentation. Pharoah and Espinoza dug a circular trench in the track dirt as officials and Baffert tried to organize the Zayat entourage into an organized group for post-race photos.
When it was over and the super horse headed for the backstretch and his stall in the Kelly Breen barn, the reality of just how good this horse is began to settle in and speculation about his next outing was the talk of the writers in the press box.
With his easy victory in the Haskell, Baffert said no plans have been made where or when to run Pharoah next, although they have leaned to the Breeders Cup in October. At one point The Travers Grade 1 stakes at Saratoga in four weeks was discussed but not recently.
The colt will need rest and training time for the $5 million Breeders Classic race October 31.
Zayat who promised racing fans they would get to see the triple crown winner race again after his Belmont victory in June chose historic Monmouth Park in his home state for the horse’s first test leading up to the Breeders Cup Classic to be run in late fall at Keeneland in Lexington, KY, and ultimately the breeding barn where the stud fees are estimated to be $200,000 or more.
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Racing fans including families with lots of children took advantage of Monmouth Park’s invitation to watch American Pharoah train the three days prior to the Haskell. Crowds increased each day as the three-year old colt took to the track at exactly 7:30 a.m. to jog and gallop in front of an adoring audience and hundreds of media including news helicopter hovering high over the infield.
Monmouth Park welcomed the horse with open arms as it is in the midst of a fight for survival surrounded by tracks in neighboring states with on-site gambling to supplement race purses. The horse, the race and the festival MP planned for the Haskell weekend provided new focus on New Jersey’s horse racing industry and helped bring new fans to the Oceanport facility. The track, now run by the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association, is transforming itself into a family destination with activities such as on-site miniature golf, activities for children and a soon-to-open gourmet restaurant near the oval’s final turn.
