ABOUT TO STOP
Baffert was noncommittal on Justify’s future but also seemed eager to run him again, as long as he’s healthy.
“I haven’t sat down with Elliott or anything,” he said. “We still can’t believe we went through this. It’s the longest, quickest journey we’ve ever been on.”
Baffert was referring to the incredible 111-day rush from Justify’s maiden start at Santa Anita on Feb. 18 through the three legs of the Triple Crown. Six races, six victories and only in the Preakness did he appear vulnerable.
Because Justify trampled on the Curse of Apollo, which said no horse could win the Kentucky Derby without running as a 2-year-old, he’ll be talked about as the flag bearer for a new generation of lightly raced Triple Crown contenders.
Baffert has said it would be a good thing if owners no longer feel they have to force a 2-year-old start for every potential Derby horse. But he said Sunday that Justify is less a trendsetter than a unique phenomenon.
“I think it was just a special case,” he said. “We got him in November, after the Breeders’ Cup, and took our time with him, no rush. And he just came along himself. When he showed that brilliance when he broke his maiden, we knew maybe he had a chance, but he was going to have to be something really special.”
Baffert never wants to discuss his own legacy, but Justify’s victory stamped him as perhaps the greatest trainer in the history of his sport. He’s won more Triple Crown races, 15, than anyone and became just the second trainer, after James (Sunny Jim) Fitzsimmons, to win two Triple Crowns.
His peers couldn’t help but give him credit for leading Justify so far in such a short period.
“Unbelievable training job,” said Chad Brown, winner of the last two Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Trainer. “He’s one of the greatest of all time, and he just added yet another remarkable accomplishment to an incredible career already.”
Baffert and his family celebrated at familiar favorite restaurant King Umberto, just down Hempstead Turnpike from the track. The staff made special pizzas with Justify and Triple Crown spelled out in pepperoni. DAVID WEXLER DAILY NEWS
Justify will leave Belmont Park on Monday and go back to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for at least a week before eventually returning to Baffert’s home base in California.
The Hall of Fame trainer wasn’t ready to assign a historical ranking to his horse. But he did reminisce about the great talents who fell short in the Belmont, from Smarty Jones to Big Brown to California Chrome. There was a time when Baffert didn’t know if he’d see another Triple Crown winner. Now he knows it just takes the right horse, or horses in his case.
“Opinions die, facts live forever,” he said. “That’s what the Triple Crown is all about.”