SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- If it had been in the hands of a screenwriter, perhaps there would have been a different outcome at the 146th Travers Stakes.
American Pharoah might have been as majestic Saturday as he was on that historic day in June when he ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought and became only the 12th horse to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
But it was Saratoga. The Graveyard of Favorites or Champions -- take your pick.
American Pharoah, like Affirmed through disqualification in 1978 and Secretariat through being a flesh and blood animal (not a machine) in 1973, finished second at the equine oasis known as the Spa in a race that might produce a far different ending than it did for the other two Triple Crown winners. Affirmed and Secretariat returned to the races and put the defeat at the Spa far behind them.
For American Pharoah, Saratoga might be the graveyard of his career.
Speaking at a press conference after his Triple Crown champion succumbed to Keen Ice's stretch bid, owner Ahmed Zayat wore a sullen look and spoke words that no one wanted to hear but surely were not shocking.
"My gut feeling is to retire him," he said.
"I looked at Joanna [his wife], and this is the only word I told my family going down the escalator [to reach the press conference]," he continued. "I said my gut feeling said it's time to go out on a high note. If this horse is one percent not the American Pharoah that we cherish, show's over."
Zayat added that a final decision is still a matter for the future. He will soon discuss the situation with everyone involved, including trainer Bob Baffert, jockey Victor Espinoza and his son, Justin, the racing manager for the family's Zayat Stables.
Yet the owner made it clear that if his prized, 3-year-old colt is anything less than the horse seen in his Triple Crown sweep and victory over Keen Ice earlier this month in the Haskell, the Travers will prove to be the final chapter in an amazing story that captivated fans from all corners of the country and made racing relevant once again.
"I've made all my decisions in my life being an entrepreneur, being a gut man. So my gut's saying if he is not the Pharoah I know, then there's no question in my mind that the right thing is to retire him," Zayat said. "He doesn't owe me or anybody anything. I have to worry about him. That's how it's going to be.
Hearing those words, Baffert interjected, "It's going to be a long flight."
Mindful of the big picture more than the outcome of a single race, Zayat responded, "No, no, no. I'm very proud of American Pharoah. I'm disappointed for the fans. I'm heartbroken, but I would not trade a minute of the pleasure that he gave me, my family and the sport -- not a second."
After American Pharoah's victory in the Haskell, Baffert initially expressed trepidation about shipping his West Coast-based runner across the country once again to run in a stakes in which the Hall of Fame trainer now owns a 1-for-6 record. Yet the manner in which American Pharoah trained impeccably in the weeks leading up to the $1.6 million Travers allowed him to quell those concerns and ship the horse to Saratoga, where American Pharoah's charisma was reflected by the 15,000-plus fans who turned out Friday morning at the Spa to simply watch him gallop around the track.
It was Baffert's fervent desire to keep American Pharoah undefeated until he was handed over to Coolmore's Ashford Stud at the end of the racing season. That explains why, in the final furlong, he wished there had been a different race and a different track.
"The last 50 yards, I was thinking Parx," Baffert said in reference to the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 19 at that track. "We have to let the horse tell us what he wants to do [going forward]. Is he tailing off? We don't know. Victor felt it wasn't the Pharoah he was used to riding, but you can't tell off one race. He still ran a pretty good race."
Baffert said American Pharoah, who had been bitterly pressed from the start by Belmont Stakes runner-up Frosted, ran on "pure guts" after drawing clear from that rival at the top of the stretch.
"He did that in the Derby and got away with it," Baffert said.
In the Derby, Keen Ice was a troubled seventh. He was third behind American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes, prior to his runner-up finish at the Haskell. On Saturday, at unpredictable Saratoga, he took aim at a different American Pharoah -- a vulnerable American Pharoah -- and edged away to a three-quarters-of-a-length victory at 16-1 odds in a result that spoke volumes about both horses.
Perhaps in Donegal Racing's Keen Ice, trainer Dale Romans has a horse who has finally come of age and could be a main factor at the same mile-and-a-quarter distance in the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Classic.
Perhaps after the euphoria of the seemingly impossible Triple Crown sweep and racing at eight different tracks in 10 career starts, American Pharoah's future will center around a life at stud and that day down the road when he fittingly enters the Hall of Fame.
The end of a glorious road might be at hand.
"I really don't know," Baffert said when asked about the possibility American Pharoah's racing days might be over. "It's tough to swallow right now, so I don't have any emotions about thinking about the end. I really can't think about that now. I just hope everything is okay tomorrow [with American Pharoah], and I'll apologize to him."
Of course, for a career that will long be celebrated in racing lore for debunking the impossibility of a Triple Crown sweep, there's no real need for apologies. Even the greatest horses lose.
On an unforgettable Saturday afternoon at Saratoga, there was indeed a horse race -- perhaps a final race for a grand champion.