Justify’s Triple Crown bid will be grueling challenge
again. It’s a weird, quirky race, but I don’t see why though he wouldn’t handle it.”
Had the Preakness been another tenth of a mile, a hard-charging Bravazo might’ve passed Justify and ended the Triple Crown bid Saturday. Bravazo will go to the Belmont where Justify will have plenty of familiar challenges — and a fresh ones — standing in the way of becoming the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown.
In addition to Bravazo, Kentucky Derby horses Hofburg, Vino Rosso and Free Drop Billy and Preakness horse Tenfold are among those likely to challenge Justify in what’s considered the most difficult race on the Triple Crown trail.
Bravazo is “a tough little horse, and I think his pedigree will let him run that far,” trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. “So, we’ll take him on and see what happens.”
Justify’s run in the Kentucky Derby was convincing enough to scare off a few opposing owners and trainers from the Preakness. Given the fatigue of difficult races two weeks apart, they could see Justify as beatable at the Belmont.
Baffert, who had three near-misses with Silver Charm, Real Quiet and War Emblem before American Pharoah broke the 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015, said Justify is built to power through the fatigue caused by running on the slop twice against high-caliber competition.
“You do hate to keep running on these wet tracks because it does take a little bit out of them,” Baffert said before Justify flew back to Louisville, Ky., for some rest and more training. “It can be tough. It’s not as tough on him because he’s a big horse. He can handle it. He was blowing pretty good, he got a good blow out of [the Preakness], but he wasn’t as tired as we thought he was.”
As gassed as Justify looked at the wire in the Preakness, jockey Mike Smith is convinced the undefeated colt could have run longer and picked up the pace if asked. Finishing a half-length ahead of Bravazo made it by far Justify’s closest victory of his five, but it counts just the same.
“Although he got tired [Saturday], he was also looking around a bit at the end,” Smith said. “I certainly could have got after him a whole lot more a lot earlier and made him do a little more, as well.”
Twelve out of the past 13 times the horse who won the Derby and Preakness lost the Belmont. It’s certainly the test of a champion for a reason.
“Although he got tired [Saturday], he was also looking around a bit at the end. I certainly could have got after him a whole lot more a lot earlier and made him do a little more, as well.”
— Mike Smith, jockey aboard Justify