5 questions for... Jerry Bailey
Hall of Fame jockey, two-time Belmont Stakes winner and NBC Sports analyst Jerry Bailey talks with The Post’s Zach Braziller about Justify’s chances to win the Triple Crown on Saturday. Q: What stands out about Justify?
A: He has no discernible weakness. He’s got speed and he’s got more speed, and he’s got a lot of talent. That makes a horse dangerous. Now we’ll find out if he has enough stamina. That’s the biggest question for the Belmont. That’s taken down many big horses. He has all the tools necessary for it. The biggest question with him is how much have these races taken out of him. It appeared in the Preakness the races had started to take their toll on him. Saying that, he has an extra week of rest than he did between the (Kentucky) Derby and Preakness. So he should be able to bounce back better. Q: What are the challenges for Justify’s jockey, Irad Ortiz? A: For a jockey, it’s difficult because we just don’t run a mile and a half on dirt hardly at all. You do this one day a year, and if you did anything one day aa year, how good do you think you would be at it? Not very. It’s a challenge greater than others for riders.
Q: Which other horse would you keep an eye on at the Belmont?
A: Probably Hofburg. He ran a sneaky good race in the Derby. He finished seventh, but he got in some traffic trouble at key points in the last 5/16’s of a mile. He could’ve easily been closer. He’s another horse that’s very lightly raced and has potential. He’s got a license to run really well.
Q: What’s the challenge of Belmont for a horse that has won the Derby and Preakness? A: It’s a challenge of all three of these races in five weeks. In (Justify’s) particular case, throwing in the three races before the Derby [he ran] in a short amount of time just to be there. His schedule has been compressed unlike that of any horse in the past. He’s being asked to do something the other horses in there are not asked to do. Q: What are your expectations for Justify? A: Unless there’s a bad break, he’ll be in first or second place going into the first turn, and then it depends how well his jockey can get him to relax, because that is the key to winning at Belmont. It’s how relaxed you can stay, how you’re positioned, how fast or slow you’re going. You need to be relaxed for the first half of the race. It’s like any long-distance race for any athlete. You have to get into a rhythm, get that long nice stride going and stay relaxed.