JUSTIFY READY TO RUN
Baffert seeks another Crown
NEW YORK» Bob Baffert has done everything he can with Justify. Now, it’s up to the undefeated colt and some racing luck to add his name to a revered list of Triple Crown winners.
The chestnut colt with the blaze running down his face appears to have rebounded well after victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, with the most exhausting still to come. He’ll run 1 ½ miles around Belmont’s sweeping oval Saturday with nine rivals gunning to keep history from happening.
Having failed with horses three times before American Pharoah ended a 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015, Baffert knows how tough it can be to get it done. A combination of factors can help or hurt a horse,
Belmont Stakes field
The field for Saturday’s 150th Belmont Stakes:
PP Horse Trainer Jockey
1. Justify Bob Baffert Mike Smith
2. Free Drop Billy Dale Romans Robby Albarado 3. Bravazo D. Wayne Lukas Luis Saez 4. Hofburg William Mott Irad Ortizo Jr. 5. Restoring Hope Bob Baffert Florent Geroux 6. Gronkowski Chad Brown Jose Ortiz
7. Tenfold Steve Asmussen Ricardo Santana Jr. 8. Vino Rosso Todd Pletcher John Velazquez 9. Noble Indy Todd Pletcher Javier Castellano 10. Blended Citizen Doug O’Neill Kyle Frey Weights: 126 pounds. Distance: 1½ miles. Purse: $1.5 million. Post time: 4:46 p.m. MDT. including a poor start, bad racing luck or jockey error.
In 2002, War Emblem nearly fell to his knees when the starting gate sprang open, and Baffert knew the ornery colt was done. He straggled home in eighth place, beaten by 19½ lengths by a 70-1 shot. Odds 4-5 30-1 8-1 9-2 30-1 12-1 12-1 8-1 30-1 15-1
In 2004, Smarty Jones put away two rivals early and was ahead by four lengths in his bid for the Triple Crown. Then came the final furlong of the fastest Belmont since the advent of modern timing. Birdstone, a 36-1 shot, reeled in Smarty Jones, who lost by a length.
“I knew on the first turn that it wasn’t good because the way the horse was running, he was not relaxed and we still had a mile and a half to go almost,” jockey Stewart Elliott recalled recently.
Besides the grueling distance, the track itself can be tricky. Horses and riders aren’t used to 1½-mile races in the U.S., where the focus is on sprinting.
Justify has to overcome the No. 1 post position and Baffert will be watching closely to see if the colt breaks cleanly from the gate. Once he does, jockey Mike Smith will settle Justify much like Elliott tried with Smarty Jones, a similarly speedy colt.
“It’s just about getting the horse in a good, happy, comfortable place, wherever that may be,” Smith said. “He’s got such a natural high cruising speed and he can just kind of keep on going.”