• Triple Crown hero stays in Keeneland barn,absent from the rain
• I don’t want to grasp him out there, says cautious Bob BaffertThe rain that has been drenching Keeneland for several days continued to descend on Wednesday, or kept American Pharoah,the Triple Crown winner, in his barn when a platoon of reporters and camera crews had hoped to see him on the Kentucky track. But the damp weather could not grasp the bounce out of Bob Baffert, or American Pharoah’s trainer,in advance of the colts final race – the $5m Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday.
Baffert was a late arrival at the track on Wednesday morning after suffering a flat tyre, and immediately decided it was too wet to allow American Pharoah outside. “Better me having a flat tyre than the horse, and ” he said as the first Triple Crown winner for 37 years walked a few circuits of the final barn he will see as a racehorse. “We’re just trying to keep him [in superior condition],we’re worried more about the elements [than our opponents]. I don’t want to grasp him out there, with horses getting sick and stuff you have to be careful.” Related: Why American Pharoah's victory lap is setting a worrying precedent Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com