American Pharoah’s presence at Travers an exciting opportunity

It’s a race that owner Ahmed Zayat has very much wanted to run in, while trainer Bob Baffert took a closer-to-the-vest approach. He did not go all-in until Sunday after American Pharoah had sizzled in a workout at Del Mar.

American Pharoah was made a 1-5 favorite in the Travers. It is not a great betting race unless you are buying souvenir win tickets or planning to bet against American Pharoah.

But the Travers is a race worth watching, even without a wager.

American Pharoah is the 12th Triple Crown winner. Of the previous 11, only three raced in the Travers, so this is like seeing a blue moon.

In all honesty, American Pharoah has a lot going against him, so a win would be another crowning achievement.

Saratoga will be the sixth-straight different track at which American Pharoah has raced. That means a huge amount of travel between Saratoga, Monmouth Park, Belmont Park, Pimlico, Churchill Downs and Oaklawn Park.

There is never a guarantee that a horse will like a new track surface. Even Baffert has called Saratoga’s dirt “quirky,” as he has tasted many upsets in Spa graded stakes.

His main foes — Upstart (15-1), Texas Red (8-1), Frosted (6-1) and Keen Ice (12-1) — have been stabled at Saratoga for weeks. Thus, they are well-adjusted to the dirt track and the likely hot, humid climate.

So why is American Pharoah in the Travers? To build on his legacy, according to Zayat.

I wondered about that. American Pharoah has defeated every horse in the field, some more than once, except for long shots Mid Ocean (50-1), King of New York (50-1) and Smart Transition (20-1). Only Smart Transition has even a hint of a shot.

This most probably will be American Pharoah’s final race within the 3-year-old division. Baffert and Zayat are hoping to exit with a bang, not a bust.

I have maintained that his real legacy race will be against older horses in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. I just pray that this cross-country trip does not take away from his chances of winning the Classic.

As far as race strategy Saturday, jockey Victor Espinoza may be sitting on lone early speed in American Pharoah. I cannot see another horse fighting him for the front unless it’s a premeditated suicide run.

American Pharoah has already won at 1¼ and 1½ miles, so distance is no problem. If Espinoza can get him to relax at his usual high cruising speed, he should be difficult to catch.

The only horses I give any chance of upsetting are Texas Red, Frosted and Keen Ice. They would need to run an A-plus race as American Pharoah runs an A-minus or B-plus race.

The Travers is set for 2:46 p.m., and I will be incredibly nervous. And I won’t even have any skin in this race.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick