American Pharoah's casual Belmont win caps an impressive Triple Crown

ELMONT, N.Y. - The Triple Crown winner that horse racing had been awaiting for 37 years turned out to be worth the wait.

American Pharoah, a big bay colt with a faultless, fluid stride, didn't destroy the field at the Belmont Stakes like Secretariat, the most dominant Triple Crown winner, or earn the crown in a stretch duel like Affirmed, the most recent previous winner. But Pharoah might have done something more impressive late Saturday afternoon. He turned in what amounted to a casual victory in the grueling 11/2-mile race despite being marked by a field of horses, all of which had a significant rest advantage.

There were plenty of reasons American Pharoah shouldn't have won the Belmont and the 12th Triple Crown in thoroughbred history. There was one reason he did, and it was the only reason that mattered. Pharoah was easily the best horse, and one that proved capable of going wire-to-wire in the longest race in the United States and over its most unforgiving track. Great horses can do that, and the crowd of 90,000 at Belmont saw a great one Saturday.

"We hoped we had the horse," said trainer Bob Baffert, who had been disappointed in three previous attempts at a Triple Crown in the Belmont. "I was preparing for somebody coming because I've been through this so many times. I was just hoping for once, and I could tell at the eighth pole that it was going to happen. All I did was take in the crowd. It was thundering."

American Pharoah gave those who came to witness history something to cheer about from the moment the gate sprung open. He hurried to the lead and was in front and in control as soon as he got there.

"He walked into the gate and he was ready today," jockey Victor Espinoza said. "That first turn was the best feeling I ever had."

Espinoza guided Pharoah through fast, but not destructive, early fractions while rivals Materiality, Frosted, Mubtaahij, and Keen Ice jostled close behind, waiting for the faltering that never came from the leader. Those four horses had rested since the Kentucky Derby while American Pharoah had to run the Preakness Stakes in the interim.

Materiality ducked out of contention after one mile, and the others didn't have the legs to stay with Pharoah to the end, either. Frosted took second, but the gap was still widening at the finish, with American Pharoah opening up to win by 51/2 lengths, the third-largest winning margin for a Triple Crown winner. The time of the race was 2 minutes, 26.65 seconds, the second-fastest for a Triple Crown winner (behind only Secretariat's world record of 2:24 for the distance).

After the race was over and Espinoza had finished the obligatory in-the-saddle television interview, the jockey jogged the colt past the finish line, past the winner's circle, and all the way back up the track for a victory parade in front of the screaming, leaping, hugging thousands who jammed the grandstand and track apron. As the slanting sun lighted American Pharoah's reddish coat and darkened his black mane, the winner seemed to prance. He didn't know the whole story, of course, but you couldn't prove that by watching.

American Pharoah's Triple Crown arrived when fans of horse racing had nearly given up on the prospect of seeing another one. There were three within a space of six years in the 1970s, but none since 1978 despite many opportunities. Thirteen horses since Affirmed had won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but failed to capture the Belmont Stakes. All of them were undone by the distance or the tactics used against them or by impatient jockeys. Some were unlucky, some were unprepared for the task. In the end, none of them was good enough.

The colt that cruised smoothly at the front on Saturday was all that and more.

"I told [Victor] to ride him with confidence, and he did," Baffert said. "I said to put him on the lead and go for it, and if he doesn't make it, don't worry about it. But he just kept on rocking and rolling."

American Pharoah rocked the horse racing world and rolled into history. If it takes one year or another 37 for the next Triple Crown, this colt provided a memory to savor during the interim.

He didn't win by an immense margin, and he didn't win by a nose. He won his way, which was to race to the front and wait for a horse good enough to run by him. In this Triple Crown season, that horse didn't exist.

@bobfordsports