Preakness 2015 Winner: Analysis, Race Highlights from American Pharoah's Victory
American Pharoah's Triple Crown bid continues.
The Kentucky Derby winner absolutely torched the field in the 140th Preakness Stakes, navigating a rain-soaked track with ease en route to a brilliant seven-length victory. Pharoah's endurance and jockey Victor Espinoza's savvy riding proved to be a combination no contender could match.
Here's a look at the official race results:
| 1 | 1 | American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | ---- |
| 2 | 5 | Tale of Verve | Joel Rosario | Dallas Stewart | 7 |
| 3 | 7 | Divining Rod | Javier Castellano | Arnaud Delacour | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Dortmund | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | 15 1/2 |
| 5 | 3 | Mr. Z | Corey Nakatani | D. Wayne Lukas | 17 1/4 |
| 6 | 4 | Danzig Moon | Julien Leparoux | Mark Casse | 18 1/4 |
| 7 | 8 | Firing Line | Gary Stevens | Simon Callaghan | 45 |
| 8 | 6 | Bodhisattva | Trevor McCarthy | Jose Corrales | 48 1/4 |
Pharoah may have been the odds-on favorite entering post time, but he was forced to overcome one glaring hurdle to emerge victorious. Starting in the No. 1 gate was an ominous task—especially in sloppy conditions—as only one horse (Tabasco Cat in 1994) had previously won from the position since 1961.
Take a look back at the race and watch how Pharoah got out of trouble:
A perfect start was needed to get out of the gate quickly and accelerate down the muddy track to avoid getting caught in traffic or pinned against the rail. Espinoza knew this, and he asked Pharoah to run immediately. The horse complied and moved quickly to the front of the pack, putting himself in great position for the remainder of the race.
At this point, Pharoah was already in better shape than he was in the Derby. Not because he was in first position (he settled in third position at Churchill Downs), but because he had the privilege of running alongside the rail instead of three wide. Rest assured, that was a big stamina-saving factor for the Pimlico winner.
Once out front, Espinoza wisely slowed Pharoah down from a dash to a swift gallop—another wise stamina-saving maneuver. This allowed competitors to make up early ground, but Pharoah never relinquished his stranglehold on first place.
After maintaining that brisk pace through the final turn, Espinoza asked Pharoah to run once again. The colt displayed a tremendous amount of endurance and superior closing ability, leaving the field in his wake to win by a dominating seven-length margin.
The surprising Tale of Verve came from way behind the leaders to finish in second place. He showed some great speed down the final stretch and may have been more of a threat had he been able to get off to a better start. Divining Rod put on a fine show, finishing in third place.
Dortmund and Firing Line were rather disappointing. After both fared well in the Kentucky Derby, neither were a factor in the Preakness Stakes. Dortmund hung around the lead pack but never challenged Pharoah, finishing in fourth. Firing Line stumbled early and lost all of his momentum, finishing seventh.
Trainer Bob Baffert had some glowing praise for Pharoah during a post-race interview with Preakness.com, "He's just an amazing horse. Everybody talks about the greatness and he's starting to show it. To me, they have to prove it. Today, the way he did it. He’s just so fast, the way he ran. It was like poetry in motion.”
Baffert has every reason to heap praise upon his horse. The colt has now won the first two legs of the Triple Crown following a couple of poor post draws. Fatigue didn't appear to be any kind of an issue for Pharoah at Pimlico, and if that trend continues, the colt will have a legitimate shot in the lengthy 1.5-mile Belmont Stakes.
We could be looking at our first Triple Crown winner since 1978.
