Justify’s connections call it a career

The news that many in racing had feared was coming, ever since we first heard about a pesky filling in an ankle a couple of weeks ago, finally arrived via press release Wednesday afternoon: Justify would race no more. As trainer Bob Baffert explained, the horse was “not responding quickly enough for a fall campaign.” Although there is probably nothing wrong with him that couldn’t be cured with two or three months’ rest, few people seriously thought Justify would race beyond this year.

In discussing Justify’s retirement, WinStar Farm’s Kenny Troutt claimed that “all things happen for a reason.”(Does that include the Holocaust, the Rape of Nanking, the fire-bombing of Dresden?). The reason Justify is being retired, of course, is money. Like other racing stars before him, he had become too valuable to risk allowing him to continue doing the very thing that made him so valuable in the first place.

The fact that so many entities had a piece of racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner – Justify raced for WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners and Starlight Racing – made it clear that he was above all an investment property. Of course, the really serious money won’t start coming in until next year, when Justify begins his stallion career. Reports began circulating after the Preakness that his breeding rights had been purchased for $60 million by Coolmore, the international breeding conglomerate. Those reports were denied at the time but – well, we’ll see.

In comments in Wednesday’s release, China Horse Club’s Teo Ah Khing said, “It has been a great ride for all of us.” A great ride, yes, one that anyone with any connection to racing would have given almost anything to have been a part of. It was a very brief ride, though. Justify’s six-race career lasted less than four months, from his successful debut on Feb. 18 to his triumphant Belmont on June 9.

Does this fact make his accomplishments any less remarkable? Absolutely not. It may mean, though, that Justify won’t be remembered with the same fondness (and familiarity) as such recent racing stars as Zenyatta and California Chrome, or even American Pharoah – who at least stuck around for the Haskell and, most famously, the Travers.

The Triple Crown, long racing’s main attraction, is probably a bigger part of the sport than ever. And it’s hard to imagine the situation ever changing. So much attention is focused on the series that it’s not always recalled that for the legendary Triple Crown heroes of the 1970s, the Triple Crown was only one aspect of their greatness.

Secretariat didn’t race at four, but some of his most compelling victories came against older horses in the Marlboro Cup, Man o’ War and Canadian International. Seattle Slew and Affirmed were both champions as 4-year-olds. Affirmed closed out his career with five Grade 1 wins in his final six starts.

After the 37-year gap between the Triple Crowns of Affirmed and American Pharoah, it only took three years for Justify to produce the next one. Is this the start of a new trend? There’s no telling. The only sure thing is that when the next Triple Crown winner comes around, don’t look for him to race at four. Jeff Scott usually writes about horse racing Tuesday in The Saratogian. During the meet, however, his columns will appear on Friday. He can be reached at utahpine1@aol.com