Smart Winner for American Pharoah

Triple Crown hero American Pharoah had a smart winner on Monday at Taree where Buck Pharoah (2g American Pharoah x Sequential, by Lion Hunter) scored his second victory.

Trained by Neil Godbolt, Buck Pharoah went to the paddock after winning at Port Macquarie back in March and resumed from a spell to win over 1000m beating older horses as favourite.

Godbolt bought Buck Pharoah for just $33,000 at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale from the Highgrove Stud draft and the gelding has already won back his purchase price banking over $40,000 from two wins and two seconds from four starts.

Buck Pharoah is a half-brother to stakes-winner Excitable Boy and is the fifth winner from Sequential, a half-sister by Lion Hunter to stakes-winners Order of the Sun, Beauty and Get to Work as well as to the dam of Group I winner Summer Passage.

Buck Pharoah is one of three Australian winners for American Pharoah, who has sired 19 stakes-winners worldwide including three Group I winners in the Northern Hemisphere where his oldest progeny are now four year-olds.

American Pharoah has over 80 unraced two year-olds in Australia and has very similar numbers and quality to come in his next two crops, so when the tide turns for the Triple Crown hero it may well turn with a tidal wave.

Yearling buyers at the sales this year are obviously keeping the faith with some 60 of his stock averaging around $160,000 this year.

Among his unraced stock is the Mike Moroney trained filly Asteroidea (2f American Pharoah x Starfish by Redoute’s Choice), who looked good winning a jump out at Flemington last Friday over 800m, while another to keep an eye out for will be the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained filly Tattooist (2f American Pharoah x Aspen Falls by Hennessy), who won two trials in Sydney earlier this year.

American Pharoah returns to Australia this spring at a fee of $49,500.