American Pharoah made history in New York with a brilliant victory in the Belmont Stakes seeing him become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to lift the American Triple Crown.
The result was never in doubt, with Victor Espinoza, who came close to pulling off the feat last year with California Chrome, guiding 3-4 favourite American Pharoah to a five-and-a-half-length win over Godolphin's Frosted (41-10). Keen Ice (172-10) claimed third.
Winning trainer Bob Baffert admitted the feeling of finally achieving the holy grail of American racing will take a while to sink in.
Having come close before with the likes of Real Quiet and Silver Charm, Baffert realised his dream of guiding a horse through the toughest five weeks possible, beginning with the Kentucky Derby, taking in the Preakness Stakes before winning the Belmont in New York.
Baffert told www.bloodhorse.com: "Every fraction - I saw, 1:13 and change, and I just loved that, then 1:37. They turned for home and I was prepared for somebody coming, because I've gone through this so many times. I was just hoping, for once - I could tell by the eighth pole that it was going to happen.
"All I did was just take in the crowd. The crowd was just thundering and I was enjoying the call, and the crowd, and the noise - everything happening.
"While I was here in town, I was listening to every news station and people were saying, 'Oh, it never happens and everybody gets up for it,'
"But there's something about this horse that he just brought it every time. What a feeling. It's probably going to take a few days to sink in."
For 43-year-old Espinoza it was a feeling of redemption having narrowly missed out last year.
"He was ready today. As soon as I sat in the saddle, there was so much power and so much energy this horse had," he said.
"He was a touch slow out of the gate, but I sent him anyway. I'm telling you, in the first turn, it was the best feeling I've ever had. Turning for home, I was like, 'this has not happened yet.'
"I wanted to ride to the wire. I just dropped my hands and he just took off."
Having finished second in the Derby at Epsom with Jack Hobbs, Godolphin had to settle for the same place with Frosted but jockey Joel Rosario was proud of his mount.
"My horse ran great, but the horse everybody expected to win won the race," said Rosario.
"My horse ran really great, and we got second place. It's exciting, because we have not seen this for so long and the winner really looked brilliant."
In an industry where speed is increasingly of the essence, the mile and a half around Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, really takes some getting and 'Big Sandy' had become a figurative graveyard for Classic stars.
California Chrome's eclipse last year meant 12 horses had attempted to complete the famous treble since Affirmed, including such luminaries as Spectacular Bid (1979), Alysheba (1987), Sunday Silence (1989) and Silver Charm (1997).
In 1998, Real Quiet failed by just a nose, while the last to bid for glory had been Big Brown, who was injured in the 2008 Belmont. I'll Have Another won the Derby and Preakness in 2012 but suffered a career-ending tendon injury on the eve of the Belmont and did not run.
American Pharoah becomes the 12th horse to win the three races, the first having been Sir Barton in 1919. The incomparable Secretariat did it in 1973, with Seattle Slew successful in 1977.
The Belmont is the oldest of the American jewels, pre-dating the Preakness by six years and the Kentucky Derby by eight, having been established at Jerome Park in 1866.
