Justify ready for run at Triple Crown history

Bob Baffert has done everything he can with Justify.

Now it’s up to the undefeated colt and some racing luck to add his name to a revered list of Triple Crown winners.

The chestnut colt with the blaze running down his face appears to have rebounded well after victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with the most exhausting race still to come. He’ll run 11/2 miles around Belmont’s sweeping oval Saturday with nine rivals gunning to keep history from happening.

Having failed with horses three times before American Pharoah ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015, Baffert knows how tough it can be to get it done. A combination of factors can help or hurt a horse, including a poor start, bad luck or jockey error.

Besides the gruelling distance, the track itself can be tricky. Horses and riders aren’t used to 11/2-mile races in the U.S., where the focus is on sprinting. Some have mistakenly moved too early and become burned out before the long stretch run. Others have moved too late and let the leaders get away.

Historically, deep closers have not fared well in the Belmont, so riders will seek to put their horses within a few lengths at the quarter pole.

Justify has to overcome the No. 1 post position and Baffert will be watching closely to see if the colt breaks cleanly from the gate. Once he does, jockey Mike Smith will settle Justify.

“It’s just about getting the horse in a good, happy, comfortable place, wherever that may be,” Smith said.

“He’s got such a natural high cruising speed and he can just kind of keep on going.”

If Justify wins Saturday, he will have faced the largest field (nine) of any of the previous 12 Triple Crown winners.