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| Staff Writer |
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Ten years after capturing the Triple Crown, American Pharoah is making waves once again – this time through his promising sons who are set to contest America's most prestigious race.
The now 13YO stallion, who stands at Coolmore America's Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky, remains an impressive physical specimen. The bay horse still boasts an athletic presence and his coat continues to shine almost as brilliantly as when he stood victorious in the Churchill Downs winner's circle a decade ago.
Coolmore have rooting interests in as many as four potential Kentucky Derby runners this year: Luxor Cafe and Publisher, sons of American Pharoah, alongside American Promise and Tiztastic, who are by Justify and Tiz the Law respectively.
"It's pretty exciting," said Adrian Mansergh Wallace from Coolmore America's nominations and sales division. "I like working here as akin to working for the Yankees, or Manchester United. You're working for something that is far, far bigger than yourself and far, far bigger than what you could ever imagine."
During a special showcase on 22 April, American Pharoah was paraded alongside fellow Triple Crown winner Justify and Belmont Stakes victor Tiz the Law, with all three stallions displaying the qualities that made them champions on the track.
"We do keep our stallions quite fit because we're of the belief that when breeders come to see them and fans come to see them, you want to see the athlete in them," Wallace explained. "At the end of the day, that's what every breeder is trying to do—trying to breed the next Triple Crown contender."
American Pharoah, whose initial success at stud led him to top the freshman sires list in 2019, currently ranks 18th among North American stallions by progeny earnings after finishing 15th in 2024. Known for winning the 2015 Gr.1 Breeders' Cup Classic in addition to the Triple Crown, he stands for US$45,000 at Ashford.
The sire of nine Group/Grade One winners – Cafe Pharoah, Riff Rocket, Goldrush Guru, As Time Goes By, Harvey's Lil Goil, Above the Curve, Marketsegmentation, American Theorem, and Van Gogh – American Pharoah now has two bright dirt prospects in Luxor Cafe, a winner of four straight in Japan, and Publisher, runner-up in the Arkansas Derby.
Luxor Cafe, a full brother to Japanese champion Cafe Pharoah, was born at Ashford before being sold to race in Japan, Wallace revealed. Noriyuki Hori trains him for owner Koichi Nishikawa.
Justify, who followed American Pharoah into the history books by becoming the 13th Triple Crown winner in 2018, watched his fellow champion with interest before having his turn before the assembled media on Tuesday. Both horses were trained by Bob Baffert, with American Pharoah racing for his owner/breeder Zayat Stables and Justify for China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm.
Justify, the top-priced stallion on the Ashford roster with a US$250,000 stud fee, still exudes power seven years after his retirement from racing. He stamps many of his progeny with his massive size and chestnut colour, including BC Stables' American Promise, the Virginia Derby winner, who will bid to give his 89-year-old trainer, Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, a fifth Kentucky Derby win.
Though Tiz the Law did not win the Triple Crown as American Pharoah and Justify did, he scored in the Gr.1 Belmont Stakes and was runner-up in the Gr.1 Kentucky Derby during the COVID-19-impacted Triple Crown of 2020. That year, the Belmont was the first leg of the Triple Crown in June, contested without fans at 1 1/8 miles.
Tiz the Law ran second to eventual Horse of the Year Authentic in the Kentucky Derby, which was postponed from May until September and also contested without fans. He did not run in what was the final Triple Crown race of 2020, Gr.1 the Preakness Stakes , in which Swiss Skydiver upset Authentic.
Tiz the Law finished sixth in his final career start in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland for trainer Barclay Tagg and owner Sackatoga Stable. He is currently the third-leading first-crop sire of 2024 and the fourth-leading stallion among second-crop sires in 2025, standing for US$30,000 at Coolmore.
A Kentucky Derby victory for progeny of any of these stallions would send their popularity soaring, as Wallace explained by referencing another notable sire: "It is the most iconic race on the American racing calendar, maybe on the world racing calendar, and for a stallion to sire a Kentucky Derby winner is very, very important."
He recalled that Uncle Mo siring Nyquist, the champion 2YO male of 2015 and the 2016 Kentucky Derby winner, "really changed the course of Uncle Mo's career."
After standing for US$25,000 for the 2015 breeding season before Nyquist and others hit the track in the stallion's first crop, Uncle Mo saw his stud fee climb to US$75,000 in 2016 before rising all the way to US$150,000 in 2017. The high-class stallion died at age 16 in 2024, euthanised after an injury to his left foreleg.
With four potential Derby contenders between them, American Pharoah, Justify and Tiz the Law are poised to make their mark on America's most storied race – potentially adding another glorious chapter to their already remarkable legacies.