Justify his place in history
WINS TRIPLE CROWN SEE SPORTS
Of all the history that was made at The Belmont on Saturday evening, it was history repeating itself that provided the most distinct local flavor. That is, the Giants still always come out on top in any championship-level head-to-head battles with the Patriots. Justify, partially owned by Chris Mara, edged out Gronkowski, partially owned by Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski, by 1¾ lengths to capture the 150th edition of The Belmont Stakes and become only the 13th horse in history to seize all three jewels of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.
Mara, whose family has owned the Giants for decades and who also serves as Big Blue’s Senior VP of player personnel, claimed he woke up at 6:30 on Saturday morning and “I can tell you that this has been the most nerve-wracking day I’ve ever had in life.”
Even more so, he added, than before the five Super Bowls his NFL team has participated in, winning four of them, or when his actress daughters Kate and Rooney have vied for awards, such as the two times the latter was nominated for Oscars.
“I just think it all builds up, you’ve gone from the (Kentucky) Derby to the Preakness to this and the Triple Crown, there’s only been 12 of them in history,” Mara said. “There’s been a lot of Super Bowl winners in history, and we’ve been one of them four times, which has been great. But this is something special.”
Mara got involved with Justify back in March, purchasing a minority stake alongside the famed WinStar Farm, the China Horse Club and other investors, including George Soros.
“The horse ran for the first time on my birthday, March 11, and blew the whole field away by 10 lengths. I said to myself that this horse has got a chance,” said Mara, who was accompanied by his wife, his two sons and their wives and new Giants coach Pat Shurmur and his wife. “I have nothing to do with how good the horse is … but when I got involved in it from a financial standpoint, I was very happy.
“I affect a lot of decisions, only because, if the check clears, then everything works. That’s the only thing that I have to do with this horse.”
Certainly, Justify more than justified his heavy-favorite (4-5) status on Saturday, making it now a baker’s dozen of Triple Crown champs. That list also includes American Pharoah, another Bob Baffert-trained colt and the
first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and The Belmont in the same year in 2015.
“To me, when you win the Derby five times, I really felt like, wow, I won the Derby,” Baffert said. “But this is more, to me, I wanted to see that horse, his name, up there with those greats. It takes a great horse to win the Triple Crown.”
Justify, with first-time Crown-winning jockey Mike Smith aboard, broke left immediately from the first gate position and charged along the rail, completing the daunting 1.5-mile track in a 2:28.18 wire-to-wire victory.
Justify had taken the Derby and Preakness over sloppy tracks, with three wins of his first five wins coming in wet conditions, but the sun was shining all day in Elmont, with an announced crowd of slightly more than 90,000 mostly wackily dressed fans. The chestnut 3-year-old joined Seattle Slew (1977) as the only other undefeated horse (now 6-0) to don the Triple Crown.
“We’ve been on a great trip here, winning a Derby, winning The Preakness, to be a part of this horse has been just phenomenal,” Mara said. “I didn’t know how this would feel to win this leg of it, because this is my leg, because I’m a New Yorker. I’ve been coming to the Belmont for 40 years, so it’s always been my favorite race of the year. This is a lot of fun.”
Gronkowski also was clearly enjoying himself on Long Island for much of Saturday afternoon, good-naturedly absorbing cracks about the Jets and the Giants – who upset the Pats in Super Bowl XLII and XLVI — a few times. He even finally met his namesake horse — of which he purchased a small stake earlier this year — for the first time in the paddock barely an hour before the race.
The colorful Pro Bowl tight end didn’t even seem to mind Gronkowski losing out to his Giants-connected competition in the end, after getting a poor break and surging from the back of the pack into a place position behind Justify down the home stretch.
“That was awesome,” Gronkowski told the Daily News immediately after the race. “We’ll definitely take it.”
Gronkowksi, who famously had skipped New England OTAs last week along with Tom Brady, was far more engaging than coach Bill Belichick had been when approached by the News earlier in the day, offering only a terse “No” when asked if he had time for a few questions.
Gronk the dude boasted of Gronk the equine “this guy’s a beast” and termed flying in from Massachusetts on Saturday morning to be there in person “a really cool experience.” He even palled around and snapped pictures with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, before doing the same a few minutes later with Baffert and his family.
“It makes it special because the horse was named after me and now meeting the owner and meeting the trainer and meeting everyone involved, it makes me more passionate about the race because you’re involved in it,” said Gronkowski, who also was asked if he’s always been a racing fan. “Now I am!” he added. “Now I am. I’m having a blast.” Even if the Giants got the best of the Patriots again.