Justify overcomes rain, mud, rivals
on the way to the Triple Crown.
“You just saw a great performance. … It’s like having LeBron James on your team. You have LeBron James, you better win a championship.”
Can I get a second for a colt who finished the mile-and-a-quarter in 2:04.20 and paid $7.80, $6 and $4.40?
“He’s got that ‘it’ factor,” jockey Mike Smith said. “He’s just so talented and he’s got the mind to go with it. … I basically stayed out of the way and kept my legs on both sides.”
You can say that — and many other things. A son of Scat Daddy out of the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic, Justify became the first horse to win the mile-and-a-quarter Derby without racing as a 2-year-old since Apollo in 1882.
He did it off only three prep races. Justify did not race until Feb. 18 — and before Saturday had only run at Santa Anita in suburban Los Angeles.
He did it over a sloppy track that absorbed more than three inches of rain on one of the wettest Kentucky Derby days ever.
Credit Baffert, the superbly poised and patient trainer. Mark him down as the second trainer to win five Derbies and be assured that even though he is 65, Baffert is a legitimate threat to tie Ben Jones atop the Derby win list with six wins.
Justify stamped himself as the Derby favorite by winning the Santa Anita Derby by three lengths April 7. Skeptics argued that he did it against a smaller field by dictating the pace and without encountering traffic. Justify will never have it that easy in the Derby their argument went.
Justify, the 3-1 favorite, did not have it that easy. But Smith made certain the colt had it easy enough.
Breaking crisply from the No. 7 post position, Justify responded to Smith’s request for early speed by crackling away from traffic into the middle of the track. Smith positioned his horse perfectly in the first turn, trailing only Promises Fulfilled.
“My job was just to get him out there right away,” Smith said. “I did my part. The rest was up to him.”
The early fractions were impressive — 22.24; 45:77 and 1:11.01. Baffert was not concerned if his colt could overtake the leader but he did wonder if Justify and Smith could hold off 19 challengers. Yes, the early speed concerned him. He confessed it to his wife, Jill, as the race unfolded and after the race.
“I was preparing myself for a loss,” he said.
Watching the race on television from the dry warmth of an executive office, Baffert saw what the national audience saw — the making of a horse racing star.
“We knew going in that Justify looked like a big monster and we didn’t want to be too far away,” said trainer Chad Brown, whose colt, Good Magic, stalked the winner most of the way.
Justify moved into the lead with less than a halfmile to go as the serious running began. Smith dropped him near the rail, and his colt took it from there. Purchased for $500,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 2016, Justify ran like his ownership group (WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing and Head of Plains Partners) got a bargain.
He held off Good Magic by 2½ solid lengths. It was another head back to thirdplace finisher Audible. Instilled Regard finished fourth, another ¾ lengths behind.
“I really thought I was going to get there,” said jockey Jose Ortiz, the rider on Good Magic. “It felt great to be in the position I was in.”
My Boy Jack and Mendelssohn were the second betting choices. My Boy Jack finished fifth while Mendelssohn was eased to the 20th and final spot.
“He just got knocked over coming out of the gate and then he got knocked over going into the first bend,” said Aidan O’Brien, the trainer for Mendelssohn. “It’s a totally different experience, you know, so we’ll be fine.”
The second leg of the Triple Crown will be run May 19, the Preakness at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Baffert has won the Preakness six times, including all four times with his Kentucky Derby winner.
Justify ran like a colt primed to extend the streak.