American Pharoah fires bullet in preparation for Arkansas Derby

Last updated: 4/5/15 5:16 PM

American Pharoah fires bullet in preparation for Arkansas
Derby

American Pharoah will be heavily favored in his final stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby
(Benoit Photos)

Champion American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) completed his major
preparations for Saturday’s Arkansas Derby (G1) by drilling six furlongs in a
bullet 1:11 3/5 at Santa Anita Sunday.

Under Martin Garcia, the Bob Baffert trainee posted the fastest of 25 Easter
works at the distance on the fast main track.

“That was perfect,” Baffert said. “I got him galloping out (seven
furlongs) in 1:24 4/5. He’s right on
schedule. He does everything real easy. He’ll leave Wednesday for Oaklawn.”

American Pharoah will be invading Hot Springs, Arkansas, for the second time
this spring, having romped in the March 14 Rebel (G2) in his reappearance. Zayat
Stables’ once-beaten homebred was similarly dominating in last fall’s Del Mar
Futurity (G1) and FrontRunner (G1) before injury sent him for a spell on the
sidelines.

Baffert also revealed that all was fine Sunday with his other leading
Kentucky Derby (G1) contender, Dortmund (Big Brown). The gigantic chestnut
extended his unbeaten sequence to six in Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby (G1).

The horse who’s come closest to beating Dortmund is Firing Line (Line of
David), who missed by a head in both the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) and Robert
B. Lewis (G3). Firing Line went on to rout the Sunland Derby (G3) in
track-record time last out.

Simon Callaghan, the trainer of Firing Line, was pleased to see the Dortmund
formline continue to hold so well in the Santa Anita Derby.

“It was
definitely nice to see Dortmund win as impressively as he did,” Callaghan said.
“Firing Line,
Dortmund and American Pharoah seem to have similar front-running styles, but in
the Kentucky Derby, you’ve got to get a good post position, and that determines
a lot of things, but I like the way our horse is doing.”

The trainer added that Firing Line is scheduled work “either Friday or
Saturday” at Santa Anita.

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