American Pharoah jogs; Conquest Curlinate withdrawn from Belmont consideration

Last updated: 5/28/15 6:06 PM

American Pharoah jogs; Conquest Curlinate withdrawn from
Belmont consideration

American Pharoah (left)
jogged one day after breezing a half-mile under the Twin Spires
(Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography)

Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness
S. (G1) winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) returned to the Churchill Downs track
Thursday morning for a once-around clockwise jog on the one-mile oval. The
three-year-old, preparing for a sweep of the Triple Crown in the 147th running of
the $1.5 million Belmont S. (G1) on June 6, walked around Barn 33 on
Wednesday after breezing a half-mile in :48 the day before.

“He felt great, no different,” exercise rider Jorge Alvarez said. “He’s a
running machine; all he wants to do is run. When we go to a different track,
nothing changes. He doesn’t have to take his racetrack with him. He’ll run on
anything.”

Jimmy Barnes, assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, was
also pleased with how Zayat Stables’ homebred three-year-old jogged during Churchill
Downs’ special 8:30-8:45 a.m. (EDT) training session exclusive to
Belmont Stakes contenders.

“From what we saw I thought he looked very good,” said Barnes, who rode
Baffert’s pony Smokey alongside American Pharoah during the exercise. “He jogged
almost every step of the way and felt strong. He looked super good. I’ve been
asked just about every question so far except for the big one: ‘Can he do it?’
and I think that he can.”

Barnes said American Pharoah is scheduled to resume galloping Friday at
8:30 a.m.

Baffert, who was in town for Tuesday’s workout, is scheduled to return to
Louisville, Kentucky, from his Southern California base on Saturday night. Baffert said
Tuesday that American Pharoah could work Sunday or Monday. Barnes speculated on
Thursday that Sunday at 8:30 a.m. is the more likely of the two options.

Peter Pan S. (G2) runner-up Conquest Curlinate (Curlin)
has been withdrawn from Belmont Stakes consideration. Norman Casse, assistant to
father and trainer, Mark Casse, said that the horse did not have high energy on Thursday
morning and simply wasn’t training in his normal manner.

“It isn’t a soundness issue,” Norman Casse said. “He just wasn’t training the
way that we wanted him.”

The Ontario-bred will instead be pointed to the C$1 million
Queen’s Plate on July 5, a race that his Grade 1-placed stablemate Danzig Moon
(Malibu Moon), fifth in the
Kentucky Derby and sixth in the Preakness, is also targeting that 10-furlong
affair.

Keen Ice is one of 10
possible entrants in the Belmont Stakes
(Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography)

Keen Ice (Curlin), who breezed six furlongs in 1:13 3/5 on
Wednesday, walked around the shed row of trainer Dale Romans’ barn on Thursday.

The possible 10-horse Belmont Stakes lineup (with jockey and trainer)
currently stands at American Pharoah (Victor Espinoza, Baffert); Carpe Diem
(Giant’s Causeway) (TBA, Todd Pletcher); Frammento (Midshipman) (Mike Smith,
Nick Zito); Frosted (Tapit) (Joel Rosario, Kiaran McLaughlin); Keen Ice (Kent
Desormeaux, Romans); Madefromlucky (Lookin at Lucky) (TBA, Pletcher);
Materiality (Afleet Alex) (TBA, Pletcher); Mubtaahij (Dubawi) (Irad Ortiz Jr.,
Mike de Kock); Tale of Verve (Tale of Ekati) (Gary Stevens, Dallas Stewart); and
The Truth or Else (Yes It’s True) (Edgar Prado, Kenny McPeek).

In other Belmont Stakes news:

With Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah and three other Belmont Stakes
contenders stabled on the grounds, Churchill is offering a
special 8:30-8:45 a.m. training period for those horses through Tuesday.
Additionally, area horse racing fans are invited to watch those colts train from
the first floor of the facility, including the new Courtyard area, free of
charge.

Churchill Downs will open its Gate 17 entrance between 8-9 a.m.
each morning through Tuesday so the public can watch American Pharoah and his rivals prepare for the 1
1/2-mile
third jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

Churchill Downs’ concessionaire Levy Restaurants will have coffee, juice,
soda, water and doughnuts available for purchase near the Aristides Garden.
Also, video of the exercises will be shown on the Big Board and infield video
screens.

Those unable to attend can watch an online live stream of the daily
exercises at
http://www.kentuckyderby.com/workouts/live from 8:30-8:45 a.m. through
Tuesday. Also, clips of the activity will be uploaded on the
Kentucky Derby
YouTube channel. A graphic with each horse’s name will appear on the screen with
the corresponding horse, although a majority of the focus will be on American
Pharaoh.

Churchill has a special box seat package for the June 6 Belmont Stakes
simulcast. For $24, fans can get an undercover box seat, official program, a
domestic beer or souvenir soda and a custom, limited-edition Kentucky Derby 141
T-Shirt that features a victorious American Pharaoh. Fans can purchase the
package by visiting the
online box
office.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com