Justify takes the next step

SARATOGA, NY » Facing a dozen fewer horses than he had in his convincing Kentucky Derby victory, and once again racing over a sloppy, sealed surface, Justify looked like a pretty good bet even at 2-5 in the Preakness. As the racing world saw – at least the portion that hadn’t gone back to bed after being up much of the night watching coverage of the Royal Wedding – the undefeated colt showed another dimension on Saturday, gutting out a narrow win over three determined foes to secure the second leg of the Triple Crown.

This was a lot tougher race than the Derby. For the first mile and an eighth, Justify and Good Magic did their best impersonation of Affirmed and Alydar’s memorable duel 30 years ago Sunday, battling head-tohead as they cut through the fog that lay over the historic Pimlico oval. Justify started edging away around the sixteenth pole and had enough left to hold off longshots Bravazo and Tenfold.

The official margin was a

half-length, with Bravazo finishing a neck in front of Tenfold for the place. Good Magic, the 7-2 second choice, was another neck back in fourth. The running time for 1 3/16 miles was 1:55.93.

Justify gave trainer Bob Baffert his seventh Preakness victory, a run that began with Silver Charm in 1997. No other trainer has won more than two during this span. Baffert confessed to being more than a little nervous watching Saturday’s race, in part because he couldn’t always tell what was going on.

“My boys were with me, and they said, ‘I can’t see anything,’” the Hall of Fame conditioner said in The Blood-Horse, “And when I heard the boys say, ‘He’s making his move!’ I saw the white (WinStar) colors turning for home. But I never really relaxed during the race.”

Inevitably, people are comparing Justify with Baffert’s other recent stars, 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and Arrogate, who retired last year as the leading moneyearner in U.S. racing history.

“Since the first time we worked him, raced him at Santa Anita, and when he broke his maiden, we were pretty confident we had something really, really special,” Baffert said of Justify. “Something like American Pharoah, something like Arrogate – [the three] are freaky horses, just like all the greats.”

Three hours after walking the shedrow early Sunday, Justify was flown to Kentucky, where he has temporarily settled in at Churchill Downs. Next Stop: Belmont Park.

10-year-old Soi Phet back in winner’s circle

Soi Phet had had his moments during his sevenyear, 57-race career – including seven stakes wins – but the victories had been harder to come by in recent years. Given his 1-for-13 record on turf, and his up-the-track finish last out in the Californian Stakes, it was no surprise when the 10-year-old gelding was dispatched at 47-1 Sunday in the Crystal Water Stakes on the Santa Anita turf.

Soi Phet stayed within range of the leaders for much of the race, saving ground under regular rider Alonso Quinonez. Commencing his rally inside the eighth pole, the son of Tizbud somehow found room between horses and, with a final push, out-finished four rivals to get up for a head victory. The first five horses finished within a length of each other.

“I wasn’t extremely confident, but I always have confidence in the horse,” said winning trainer Leonard Powell. “The last race, when [Californian winner Dr. Dorr] passed him, he said, ‘You know what? I’m too old for this. I’ll save myself for another day. And today was the day.”

With the win, Soi Phet’s record improves to 147-6 in 58 starts, with total earnings of $955,250.