Just typing his name so many times with the misspelled "pharaoh" would eliminate me from a spelling bee because I always have to check to make sure I spelled it correctly when not talking about the horse. American Pharaoh was a horse I followed throughout his career, from the time he missed the Breeder's Cup Juvenile to his last race when he romped in the Breeder's Cup Classic. Honestly, he was a stand-out amongst everyone else that year, and the best horse I'd seen in a long time. I wanted to believe he'd win the Triple Crown, but with so many near misses, I didn't want to get my hopes up. When he did though I wasn't too surprised, though I was excited because I wasn't born yet to see the Triple Crown winners of the 1970s, and I was far too young to be into horse racing when Secretariat died, which saddens me quite a bit. I actually got into horse racing, which I consider my favorite of all the equine sports, from an ex-racehorse that I rode as a child. He was one of my first three horses I ever had, and taught me a lot of things, especially how to gallop. I respected racehorses after experiencing their power first hand. When I was a teenager, I began exercising racehorses at a local training facility. Sometimes I would pretend that I was a real jockey in a race during those breezing episodes. Of course, I was far too tall to ever become a professional jockey, but it was still fun to imagine. I tried hitching my stirrups up to jockey length once and my legs were way too long, I ended up flipping over the front of the horse. Hubby and I were actually at the Kentucky Derby the year that American Pharaoh won. It was our first year ever going, and we only went to see him run. Later that year we went to Saratoga to watch the Travers Stakes. I was incredibly saddened to see my boy lose that day, but he looked really washed out before the race even started, so I'm thinking he just wasn't feeling his best that day. It's ok. We all have days like that. I was just happy that there wasn't anything seriously wrong with him. He finished out his usual powerful self in the Breeder's Cup Classic, and was then retired to stud. Though I wished he would have raced another year, I know how eager people were to breed their horses to the first Triple Crown winner in decades. I said I'd visit him at stud and I did. My original Breyer collection consisted of whatever I found at the feed store. Then, eBay became a "thing" and from then on, I fell full force into the hobby. I sold all my first Breyers and bought all the racehorses I could find. I had three shelves full of Breyer racehorses, some big names like Dan Patch and Seabiscuit, others not so much like Black Gold. Eventually I got tired of all the bays, blacks, light greys and chestnuts so I turned my collection towards other breeds. It was hard selling all my racehorses, but I needed a bit of color in my life. You'll find that I typically avoid those common colors now, although I still have a few racehorses that I liked, American Pharaoh's model included. I never felt the same way with Justify as with American Pharaoh. I was actually kind of surprised Justify won. I do not own his model, nor do I plan to. To me, he seemed like a one hit wonder, he didn't race as a two year old, then won the Triple Crown and just exited the racing scene as quickly as he entered, falling into oblivion. One horse I do have my eye on is Tiz the Law, however with the Triple Crown being so spread out this year, it makes me wonder if he'll keep his form by fall. He's so far already has one leg of the Triple Crown under his belt.
I visited American Pharaoh yet again last year when we went to Breyerfest. I plan on visiting him again next year when Breyerfest will - hopefully - be in person again. If Justify is there, I would like to see him, though I don't have the feelings for him that I do with American Pharaoh. Still, seeing two Triple Crown winners side-by-side is a rarity, and apparently Ashford already has their hand in Tiz the Law's stud career. What a treat it would be to see all three together, especially if Tiz the Law does win the Triple Crown. Comments are closed.
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