Posted on 06/06/2015 6:43:02 PM PDT by Lorianne
Like Any Great Athlete, Triple Crown Hopeful Has His Peculiarities ___ Like a lot of athletes, American Pharoah has his quirks.
The brown colt is easy to pick out on the racetrack: he’s the one with the shortest tail.
American Pharoah will try to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed in 1978 when he runs in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday. California Chrome failed in his bid last year.
Trainer Bob Baffert describes the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner as “a really kind, sweet horse.” That’s an unusual temperament among racehorses, most of which are aggressive due to their high-strung nature. The colt’s favorite snack is carrots, and he’ll eat them out of anyone’s hand around the barn.
His sidekick is Smokey, the mild-mannered stable pony that accompanies American Pharoah to and from the track during training.
Owner Ahmed Zayat bred American Pharoah, the product of sire Pioneerof the Nile and dam Littleprincessemma, named for Zayat’s youngest daughter. Zayat put American Pharoah up for sale and then bought him back for $300,000. The Kentucky-bred colt has six wins in seven career starts and earnings of $3,730,300.
He stands 16.1 hands, or the equivalent of 5 feet, 3 inches at the withers, and weighs 1,170 pounds.
American Pharoah’s running style is on or near the lead, making him versatile for the grueling 1 ½-mile Belmont, a distance most 3-year-olds have never run and won’t again.
Here are some more quirks to know about American Pharoah:
(Excerpt) Read more at newyork.cbslocal.com ...
Oh, wrong Pharoah.
I thought this was about Obama.
It is in fact spelled P-h-a-r-a-o-h.
The horse’s name is spelled p-h-a-r-o-a-h.
It is explained in the article.
:)
P-h-a-r-o-a-h.
So let it be ridden, so let it be run!
LOL!
That was my first thought too.
I like that!
It should be, but they screwed up.
In fact, this was one reason I thought he might actually make it. Something weird almost always happens for a TC.
He runs fast to keep his tail away from other jerk horses.
Please explain to my how you put a horse up for sale then have to pay $300,000 to get him back?
Ever rode a horse?
Kind of like a boat?
Brilliant!
Oh Moses, Moses, you great big stubborn adorable fool! :-)
I want one! Little horsey!
I read in a different article where he actually put it into an auction, but the horse didn’t bring what he thought it would. Rather than letting it go for a low bid, he put in a bid of 300k (which was the highest) and bought it back. I doubt any money actually exchanged hands because he would have just paid himself anyhow.
Please explain to my how you put a horse up for sale then have to pay $300,000 to get him back?
Not sure all auctions are the same but I attended many, many antique auctions. Rules can vary but the most common rule is reserve or no reserve rule. A reserve is when buyers must bid at least the reserve price or the item will be pulled. No reserve means that the item must be sold for the highest bid and can not be withdrawn once bidding starts.
Apparently the bids were much too low and the owner had no choice but to keep bidding until he got the horse back. In some cases or places this type of bidding is not allowed. It’s argued that owner bidding drives up the price and is therefore unfair to competitive bidders.
Not sure this was the case but I’ve done the same thing on an antique I auctioned off.
Unclear writing. Zayat apparently sold the horse at auction, then changed his mind and had to buy him back. The stud rights were sold some time ago for $14 million, so Zayat won’t make money on that.
Horse people do a lot of odd business deals (my wife’s family was in the horse business).
Yes. But not one that runs that fast.
FTA: A YouTube video spoof set to the hit song “All About That Bass” highlights the colt’s tail.
Anybody find the video?
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