American Pharoah turns in routine gallop at Churchill

American Pharoah galloped 12 furlongs on a sunny Louisville morning (Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography)

With only one week until the $1.5 million Belmont S. (G1), Kentucky Derby
(G1) and Preakness (G1) winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) stepped up
his training on Saturday morning with a 1 1/2-mile gallop on the Churchill Downs
main track at 8:30 a.m. (EDT).

“It was another good day,” said Jorge Alvarez, American Pharoah’s regular
exercise rider. “He was a little more aggressive this morning and wanted to do
more, but I just kept doing my thing. I’m feeling more excited than nervous. We
just feel that we have the right horse and he’s doing well. We’re all staying
positive.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s assistant Jimmy Barnes also liked what he
saw and maintains a relaxed and positive attitude.

“We’re back to our normal training routine and he looked good again,” Barnes
said. “We feel no nerves; we’re just doing our job. We get more anxious the
closer to the race, but there’s a difference between anxious and nervous.”

Bob Baffert is scheduled to fly into Louisville Saturday night from his
Southern California base to oversee his string of 12 horses stabled at Churchill
the following morning. Baffert confirmed via text Saturday morning that American
Pharoah would gallop Sunday and breeze at Churchill Downs on Monday.

In other Belmont news, Keen Ice (Curlin), seventh in the Kentucky Derby,
galloped two miles with exercise rider Faustino Aguilar up for trainer Dale
Romans.

“We’re going into the race with no physical excuses,” Romans said. “If he’s
good enough then he’ll win. He’s fit and he’s ready to go the distance.”