Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Victor Espinoza
The colt won the 2014 Eclipse Award for top juvenile after impressive wins in the Del Mar Futurity and Frontrunner, but a foot bruise knocked him out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile where he would have had the role as the morning line favorite.
In his win in the Frontrunner, among the foes he beat was Texas Red, who returned to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his next outing, but recently was knocked out of the Kentucky Derby with a foot issue.
His victory in the Del Mar Futurity was just his second career start and he won the race as a maiden, going seven furlongs on polytrack.
Baffert finally got American Pharoah back to the racetrack in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 14, and despite the nearly six month stay on the sidelines, the colt looked as if he had not missed any time, drawing away to a 6 ¼ length tally that will keep him on top of many Derby lists.
The colt was well backed in the wagering, sent off as the 1-5 betting favorite and he did not disappoint. The Rebel did not draw one of the deepest Derby prep fields, but visually and time wise this colt looks like a major player on the first Saturday of May.
Baffert, a three-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer, won the Rebel for the fifth time in the last six years, and likely will send the colt back to Oaklawn Park for the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 11 for his final prep for the Run for the Roses.
A strong effort in his final prep will send this colt to Louisville as the betting favorite for the Run for the Roses.
American Pharoah’s sire is Pioneerof the Nile, who won the Santa Anita Derby and ran second in the 2009 Kentucky Derby.
Baffert’s wins in the Kentucky Derby came with Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002).