Saturday Sires: American Pharoah

[Wandering Eyes]

At this time of year, when we're just weeks away from the GI Kentucky Derby, any 3-year-old colt who catches the eye requires a second look and perhaps a little Derby dreaming. Coolmore America's American Pharoah, who won the Derby himself a decade ago this May, had three sophomore colts in the news last weekend.

First up was Luxor Cafe, whose fourth consecutive win last Saturday at Nakayama in Japan did more than catch the eye. Do yourself a favor and watch him quicken off the turn and distance his rivals in the stretch if you haven't seen it already. The 70 points he's earned on the Japan Road to the Derby essentially guarantees him a spot in the starting gate at Churchill Downs May 3 if his connections opt to go that route. Churchill pegged the full-brother to Japanese dirt champion Cafe Pharoah at 20-1 in the final pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

While a Japan-trained horse would be an unconventional way for American Phaorah to get his first Derby winner, closer to home he has another son on the Derby trail who is perhaps even more unorthodox. Publisher ran a big one in the GI Arkansas Derby, just missing by 2 1/2 lengths while picking up 50 points for his runner-up finish to go with the 10 he already had. Nothing unusual about that, right? Wrong. Publisher is a maiden. Six maidens have tried the Derby in the last 50 years with the most recent being Bodexpress, who was 13th in 2019; the last maiden to win the Derby was Brokers Tip in 1933. Maiden or not, Publisher's 95 Beyer Speed Figure equaled the third-best number by a 3-year-old at nine furlongs to date this year.

American Pharoah's third sophomore colt to catch the eye last weekend was Clever Again, who made his stakes debut in Oaklawn's Hot Springs Stakes Sunday with a front-running daylight win over GISW Gaming (Game Winner). No Derby points were awarded in the race, but his 101 Beyer for the mile puts him on par with the better performances of the year. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Clever Again move up to graded company next.

Despite the conveyer belt of sorts for American Phaorah over the weekend with three headlining colts, his 2024 was a little quieter on U.S. shores, netting just two American winners in the graded ranks.

“For as highly credentialed a horse as American Pharoah, he somewhat in the last year or two has been traveling a little bit under the radar,” said Adrian Mansergh-Wallace of Coolmore's Ashford Stud division, “but I don't think that's going to be the case anymore.”

Under the radar only because he's a known commodity at the highest caliber and under the radar only in the U.S., as American Pharoah also secured an additional five graded/group winners in three other countries in 2024, including two Group 1 winners in Australia. He also finished 14th for 2024 on the North American sire lists, a coveted top 20 spot. If that's considered a down year–a year that many stallion farms would give their 'eye teeth' for–we need to examine why expectations for the son of Pioneerof the Nile are so high.

“He is a model of consistency,” said Mansergh-Wallace. “I mean, really, if he was a human being, you'd absolutely hate him because he's good at everything he does from being one of the most iconic horses we've ever seen to be now one of the truly really great value successful stallions that are standing in North America at this time.”

Mansergh-Wallace is right. American Pharoah's race career is extremely well chronicled as he was the sport's 12th Triple Crown winner and first in 37 years. Sprinkled among his eight Grade I triumphs were the Breeders' Cup Classic and a new track record at Keeneland. Named Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old in 2015 on the heels of his 2-year-old championship, he went to stud in 2016 at Ashford for a $200,000 fee, the highest first-year fee since Ghostzapper a decade prior and since matched by Flightline in 2023.

Although fees ebb and flow over time, American Pharoah has done nothing wrong in the years since. His six crops of 3-year-olds and up include 58 black-type winners, 29 graded winners, nine Grade I winners, two champions, and a Breeders' Cup winner. He bred 158 mares last year at $50,000 and is standing for $45,000 this year.

“He represents, in our view, the best value in the American market today,” said Mansergh-Wallace. “He gets you sales horses. He can get you runners on both surfaces all around the world.”

Mansergh-Wallace continued: “The one thing American Pharoah probably needed in his resume was some bang-up dirt horses who were capable of running that early on the first Saturday of May. With these two horses [Luxor Cafe and Publisher], he's got two chances to tick that box.”

Publisher at Oaklawn | Renee Torbit/Coady Media

Interestingly, while roughly half (14) of his 29 graded winners are in the U.S., the rest are spread throughout seven other countries: Ireland, England, France, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. While they aren't all on the grass internationally, the majority of them are, an intriguing statistic for an American Triple Crown winner on the dirt. In addition, American Pharoah's four Grade I winners in the U.S. are split evenly between turf and the main track. That versatility is often a hallmark of some of the best sires we've seen in recent decades.

“He gets runners on turf, on dirt, all around the world,” said Mansergh-Wallace.

“He's a horse that can do pretty much everything. They can go short, they can go long. They've got the soundness, they've got the temperament to be some of the greatest horses in the market today.”

Known for his easy-going demeanor during his racing days, American Pharoah often passes that unflappable trait along, which is never a bad thing during the high-pressure environment horses face on the track and in the sales ring. His career yearling average, including two short yearlings in his eighth crop of yearlings this year, is just shy of $225,000. American Pharoah's top seller last year was a $1.35-million Keeneland September filly, while his highest to date was a $2.2-million colt in that same sale from his first crop. Including two in Japan, American Pharoah has hit with 13 seven-figure yearlings, a bellwether of sought-after stallions. Buyers don't consistently spend that kind of money unless they believe in the sire.

“He's a safe bet,” said Mansergh-Wallace. “We know what they look like, we know how they run.”

While he's got a sparkling CV as a sire–all those black-type winners, all those countries–sometimes all it takes to put a stallion on the cusp of greatness in the public's perception is a top 3-year-old colt. Previously, in 2022, American Pharoah had an exciting prospect with GII San Felipe Stakes winner and GI Santa Anita Derby favorite Forbidden Kingdom, who eventually exited the Derby trail with an entrapped epiglottis.

However, hope is born anew in this sport every spring. And at this stage of 2025, only a handful of elite stallions still have multiple possibilities to make the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Will this be American Pharoah's best year yet?

“It's been a good start to 2025 for American Pharoah,” said Mansergh-Wallace.

Katie Petrunyak contributed to this story.

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