It took 53 seconds for the tickets to American Pharoah’s birthday party in February to sell out – less than half the amount of time it took him to win the Kentucky Derby.
The party at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., was hosted in partnership with the tourism organization Horse Country and showed the intense demand to see the 2015 Triple Crown winner in his life at stud. It’s a situation the farm has accepted and accommodated in the 10 years since American Pharoah broke a historically long Triple Crown drought, catapulting himself into racing history and the hearts of many.
“When we look at these horses, we don’t necessary look at them as just our horses – they do belong to the fans,” said Adrian Mansergh Wallace, part of the nominations and sales division at Coolmore America, which stands both American Pharoah and his fellow Triple Crown winner, 2018 hero Justify.
“And that’s why we’re so open to Horse Country and all the fans coming to see these horses,” Wallace continued. “It’s our responsibility to share these horses and, ultimately, that’s how we grow the sport. Having these two horses here is a responsibility that we don’t take lightly.”
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Every year, visitors from all 50 states, as well as internationally, come to visit American Pharoah – and to make their own memories with a horse who means so much to them.
“We’ve had quite a few marriage proposals in front of American Pharoah, which, the first time I saw one, I nearly burst into tears myself,” Wallace shared. “I was nearly more excited than the bride.”
American Pharoah has the chance to become a classic sire this year. He is expected to have two starters in the Kentucky Derby: Luxor Cafe, who has won four straight races to earn his spot via the Japan Road to the Derby, and Arkansas Derby runner-up Publisher.
Luxor Cafe was foaled at Ashford before being sold to race in Japan. Farm staff remember his laid-back personality, something American Pharoah is famous for and now appears to be passing on. Publisher’s connections say that he is similar.
“Publisher’s the coolest horse anybody ever got to run,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “Nothing bothers him. Absolutely nothing.”
American Pharoah was known on the racetrack for his kind personality, accepting pats and carrots from fans, and remaining calm in crowds of people and close quarters. Staff at Ashford say he is still the same, which is somewhat unusual for stallions once they settle into their new, high-testosterone careers.
“He just loves being around people. He’s at his happiest when people are looking at him and fawning over him and feeding him carrots,” Wallace said. “He’s very un-stallion-like, in many ways. He’s as gentle now as he was when [trainer] Bob Baffert and [owner] Ahmed Zayat were lying with him in his stall, as quiet as he was when he was standing in the winner’s circle at the Belmont Stakes, when it looked like all of New York was trying to get into that winner’s circle.
“It takes a very, very special horse to come out in front of 150,000 people and not boil over and run your best race, and to do that over five weeks, is pretty incredible, really.”
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That five-week run began on May 2, 2015, when American Pharoah, already an Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old and three-time Grade 1 winner, won the Kentucky Derby under regular rider Victor Espinoza by a length as the favorite, making him the only member of his crop, which numbered 21,528 in North America, with a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
American Pharoah went on to lead throughout the Preakness Stakes on May 16 at Pimlico, dominating by seven lengths on a Pimlico track made sloppy by a pre-race thunderstorm. Three weeks later, on June 6, 2015, he was again forwardly placed throughout in the Belmont Stakes, drawing off to win by 5 1/2 lengths.
American Pharoah broke the longest Triple Crown drought since the series has been recognized, far surpassing the 25 years between Citation in 1948 and Secretariat in 1973.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Wallace said. “When you think, that 10 years ago, this horse was about to make history. He was about to change, maybe, the course of racing. If you remember at that time, a lot of people were thinking the Triple Crown was going to have to change format – it was going to have to be run over different distances, over a different timeframe, maybe spread out the races. And one horse managed to put the horse racing world on his back and possibly change the course of history.”
American Pharoah went on to make three more starts in Grade 1 company that summer and fall, winning the Haskell Invitational, finishing second in the Travers Stakes, and winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Two days after that race, he was vanned from Keeneland to Ashford, where he has been a consistent performer.
Supported by some of Coolmore’s top mares both domestically and internationally, he also shuttled to Coolmore Australia for a handful of years. His offspring have proven successful on both dirt and turf. And, although he gets the odd sprinter, he generally passes on his stamina.
From seven crops of racing age, including current 2-year-olds who are just starting their careers, American Pharoah is the sire of more than 500 winners, including 60 stakes winners. On dirt, his best runners include Japanese champion Cafe Pharoah, a full brother to Luxor Cafe; Japan Dirt Derby winner Danon Pharoah; and Grade 1 winners American Theorem and As Time Goes By.
On turf or synthetic, his standouts include European champion Van Gogh, Canadian champion Skygaze, Victoria Derby winners Goldrush Guru and Riff Rocket, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Four Wheel Drive, and additional Grade/Group 1 winners Above the Curve, Harvey’s Lil Goil, and Marketsegmentation.
A Kentucky Derby win would further burnish his credentials as a solid stallion in international demand. But American Pharoah knows nothing about human ambition or the commercial marketplace. On a recent weekday at Ashford, in the midst of the North American breeding season, the 13-year-old shone in the sun, still looking athletic.
While Ashford is not among the Kentucky farms that ride their stallions, they do keep their charges fit to handle the workload of breeding season and to be showcased to breeders as the athletes they are.
“He’s treated like a regular horse, even though he isn’t,” Wallace said.
Fame has earned him a few perks, however.
“He loves carrots, so I think our carrot bill has gone up a little bit,” Wallace said. “We should have a little carrot patch over here. Probably be cheaper to grow our own.”
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