History beckons Baffert, Justify
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bob Baffert didn’t need this. In some ways, everything that has happened since American Pharoah’s fantastic run to the Triple Crown in 2015 has seemed like a denouement.
The big story has happened. It was not the end, but certainly the climax of a career and the culmination of the hopes of a generation of horse-racing fans and participants. It was the mountaintop. The credits aren’t rolling, but the orchestra is ready to play. The rest, as they say, is gravy.
That’s appropriate, come to think of it. Because the track that Baffert’s colt Justify ran over to win the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby Saturday looked like so much gravy after the wettest Derby day in history.
Justify stepped off the van at Churchill Downs Monday looking like LeBron James. In the midst of a crop of talented thoroughbreds, he was the biggest and most muscular, but he moved with the grace of a classic winner, long strides, fluid motion.
Baffert mentioned James in his post-race comments, saying of Justify, “It’s like having LeBron James on your team . ... You better win a championship..”
At the same time, Baffert has won the big prize. He said last week he had some nervousness, but he didn’t feel pressure.
“If I was [jockey] Mike Smith I’d feel a lot more pressure,” Baffert said. “For us, we got him here, but to win this race, you’ve got to have some luck and a good trip and a great ride.”
Justify got all those things. He burned through some of the fastest early fractions in modern Kentucky Derby history, then held on to cover the mile and a half in 2:04.20, the second-slowest winning time in 28 years over a sloppy track in a persistent rain.
Baffert wasn’t completely optimistic after those early fractions. Outside his barn Thursday, talking about pace, Baffert said, “If they go a half (mile) in 45 and change it won’t be Justify on the lead.” They went a half mile in 45.77 seconds, and Justify was just off the pace burned by Firenze Fire.
“I was making plans to get on out the back gate as soon as the race was over,” Baffert said. “But, as fast as they were going, he still looked like he was going easy.”
If anything, Smith said he was holding Justify back.
“He’s just a special, special horse,” Smith said. “Those things come very comfortable to him. Even though we went in 45, I was leaning back on him more than I normally would. He’s just so athletic, he gets over the ground so easy. Sometimes, you’ve just got to let a fast horse be fast.”
So here we are again. As a trainer, as a sport, the Triple Crown once again is in the crosshairs. For Baffert, it’s an encore. It’s also a legitimate opportunity.
All four previous times Baffert has won the Derby, he has gone on to win the Preakness and threaten Triple Crown history in the Belmont. He has won the Preakness six times. Being here again, for Baffert, is different. The first time he won the Derby, with Silver Charm in 1997, he said it felt like “an out of body experience.”
After winning his fifth Saturday, with very little drama in the race from start to finish, Baffert said, “It hasn’t sunk in. When you’re the heavy favorite like this and you know you have the right horse, you just want to do everything right.”
Baffert listened to all the comments, smiling. Smith, who had ridden Bodemeister, the last favorite not to win the Kentucky Derby, became the second-oldest jockey ever to win the race, at age 52.
All this history, and a colt that looks for all the world as if he’s poised to make more. The ninth unbeaten winner of the Kentucky Derby. The first to win the race as an unraced 2-year-old since 1882.
Those closing credits will have to wait. Baffert has another Triple Crown to pursue.