JUSTI-FIVE
Justify completes Apollo mission; Baffert takes his fifth
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Their names change — American Pharoah, Arrogate, Silver Charm; so many that one can lose count — but the horses running for a certain silver-haired trainer stick in the mind longer than others.
Now it’s Justify, who after shattering the Kentucky Derby’s “Apollo curse” Saturday is the sport’s newest cover boy and Triple Crown hopeful for 2018. He can become the 13th horse to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes in the same year and join Seattle Slew (1977) as the only one to sweep the spring classics while unbeaten.
“You’d better get used to this,” Hall of Famer Bob Baffert told Justify, now 4-0, outside the trainer’s barn Sunday at Churchill Downs. “This is your new life.”
For the record, Baffert received
the traditional day-after invitation from Pimlico Race Course to bring the Derby winner to Baltimore for the May 19 Preakness.
“I didn’t tell them I’d think about it,” Baffert said. “If he’s good — if he gets on that plane — we’ll come. We’ll take it day by day here.”
In 76 days, Baffert watched the chestnut son of Scat Daddy transform from unraced maiden to Kentucky Derby-winning favorite. Debuting Feb. 18 at Santa Anita, Justify is the first Kentucky Derby winner since Apollo in 1882 to launch his career as a 3-year-old.
A year after not starting a horse in the race, Baffert’ scored his fifth Derby victory, one less than the record six of Ben Jones. Three years after saddling American Pharoah, Baffert can join Jones (Whirlaway in 1941, Citation in 1948) and Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons (Gallant Fox in 1930, Omaha in 1935) as the only trainers with two Triple Crown winners.
Just give Baffert time to soak in the excitement of winning another Run for the Roses, this one making his first start outside California.
“It’s just sinking in now that we won the Kentucky Derby, because it was just so stressful these last few weeks just trying to get him here, trying to figure out — well, he’s lightly raced. ‘Do I take him there early? Do I wait? Take him at the last minute?’ He was happy at Santa Anita.”
A race-week arrival at Churchill Downs, Justify on Tuesday was made the 3-1 program favorite in a
20-horse field. Those odds stayed intact from Friday, when advance wagering began, until dropping to 5-2 in the last hour before post time. Paying $7.80 to win, Justify is the Derby’s sixth straight winning favorite.
Mike Smith, riding his second Derby winner, stalked leader Promises Fulfilled through scalding early fractions — 22.44 and 45.77 seconds — before sending Justify to the lead entering the final turn.
Though noticeably tiring over the first wet track of his racing career, Justify had a comfortable winning margin of 2 1/2 lengths after a mile and a quarter in
2:04.20 over a surface rated “sloppy” following an afternoon downpour.
“The outrider had to help pull him up,” said Baffert, 65. “What happened was, he was a little tired, but when those horses came to him pulling up, he wanted to take off again. I don’t know if he was just strong or if Mike’s (Smith is 52) getting too old to pull him up.”
Smith won aboard the horse Baffert referred to earlier in Derby week as the LeBron James of throughbreds.
“He’s so athletic. He gets over the ground so easy; he’s able to keep running,” Smith said. “It takes a lot to try and keep up with him, and then you’ve got to try and run him down after that.”
No one has yet.