justify - stabell · then american pharoah ended another long triple crown drought, silencing...

2018 TRIPLE CROWN WINNER

JUSTIFY

S P E C I A L C O M M E M O R A T I V E E D I T I O N

INSIDE: TEAM JUSTIFY PROFILES START-BY-START ANALYSIS TRIPLE CROWN IN PHOTOS

RONNIE BETORRONNIE BETOR

DAILY RACING FORM SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE EDITION TRIPLE CROWN PAGE 3

From the maiden ranksto mountaintop in 111 days

Each of the Triple Crown winners over the past half century has brought some-thing special to the party.

Secretariat was the fi rst to come along in 25 years. He set speed records that still stand and provided new meaning to the term “isolated splendor.”

Seattle Slew may not have been as fast as Secre-tariat, but he was fl awless, arriving at the end of the Triple Crown unbeaten and virtually unchallenged.

Affi rmed was tested like no Triple Crown winner before or since, facing the relentless Alydar in all three races before emerging victorious.

Then American Pharoah ended another long Triple Crown drought, silencing skep-

tics with a gritty Derby, a dramatic Preak-ness, and a graceful valedictory in the Belmont.

Now comes Justify, the cherry-wood chestnut with the beacon blaze, who burst upon an unsuspecting Triple Crown of 2018 like Elvis dropping in for Thanksgiving. In the space of less than four months, going from “who’s this?” to “that’s that,” the statuesque son of Scat Daddy accomplished things that seemed both unmatched and inevitable.

When a Thoroughbred does what Justify has done, taking an institution like the Triple Crown by storm, questions of prec-edent usually are raised. Based on the modern incarnation of the series, unfolding over fi ve or six weeks in the spring, Justify stands alone as the fi rst horse to begin his 3-year-old season as an unraced maiden and travel unbeaten through the three chal-

lenging steps of the Crown. Merely typing those words tends to take the breath away.

Racing’s camp followers and fans have a right to be impressed with the history Jusify has made. After all, the search for the certifi ably unique is endless, no thanks to the revered racing writer Charles Hatton, who set the bar ridiculously high when he described Secretariat as “his own point of reference.”

The ancient, unbeaten Colin, with his 12 wins at 2 and three wins at 3, was always part of the conversation while Personal Ensign was going 13 for 13. The careers of Zenyatta in the U.S. and Frankel in Great Britain dovetailed seamlessly for seven seasons of lively conversation and near perfection. And for those rightfully dazzled by Kelso, who began his 3-year-old season

DEBRA A. ROMA

Justify, Mike Smith up, wins the Belmont Stakes to cap a meteoric rise from debut winner Feb. 18 to Triple Crown champ June 9.

Continued on page 4

JAY HOVDEY

TRIPLE CROWN PAGE 4 DAILY RACING FORM SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

in June with only a maiden win to his name before marching to his fi rst Horse of the Year title, then room must be made for a horse like Tiznow, who commenced his career at age 3 in May and by season’s end reigned as Horse of the Year.

The greatest gift bestowed by Justify and the Bob Baffert crew of talented horse handlers is the idea that something held as impossible, at least by contemporary train-ing and racing standards, can be accom-plished.

When Justify became the fi rst horse in 136 years to win the Derby without racing at age 2 – his fi rst race was a maiden sprint at Santa Anita on Feb. 18 – the cry was raised that a great curse had been lifted from the land. It was a notable moment, of course, but tempered by the fact that throughout most of those 136 years nearly every horse of any ability was tried at 2 before marching

on. Those who were not were either hope-lessly backward, physically compromised, or just plain slow.

Exterminator had four quiet races at 2, was put away, won the Kentucky Derby in his fi rst start at 3, then made another 95 starts. Sun Beau ran four times at 2 with-out notice, then made 70 more starts on his way to the Hall of Fame. Roseben, the “Big Train,” raced once at 2; his other 110 starts came later.

Until this spring, every Triple Crown winner since Citation commenced their 3-year-old season as 2-year-old champion. This tends to magnify the achievement of Justify, who was still in hopeful training while races like the Champagne, the Front-Runner, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile were being run.

Baffert also put a lie to the idea that a young Thoroughbred of relative inexperi-ence needed to be handled like a Fabergé egg. Still, there is ample evidence that the

reason Justify was able to dominate the Triple Crown was in fact because he did not race as a 2-year-old. Baffert’s methodical unpeeling of the colt’s obvious talent was done in perfect harmony with his physical development. The trainer duly ignored the calendar, focusing on the big red body clock of Justify, then pulled the trigger when time and opportunity were in sync.

The trainer’s use of Drayden Van Dyke in Justify’s fi rst race was a nod to the idea that the morning had transitioned to the afternoon, since Van Dyke had been aboard for most of the colt’s serious moves. Mike Smith, Van Dyke’s mentor, took over in the next start, around two turns, and came away deeply impressed with the maturity found in an individual of such limited race experience.

The Justify story may have taken fortu-nate turn when stablemate McKinzie

EMILY SHIELDS

All cameras and cell phones were pointed at Justify on June 23, when he was paraded in front of fans at Santa Anita.

Continued from page 3

Continued on page 6

JUSTIFY

Owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing, Head of Plains Partners, LLCTrained by Bob Baffert & Ridden by Mike Smith

John Gunther / Tanya Gunther • 859-873-4590 • www.glennwoodfarm.com

PHOTOS: BARBARA D.LIVINGSTON

CONGRATULATIONS to all associated with this incredible horse!

BRED RAISED SOLD

Kentucky DerbyPreakness

Belmont Stakes

13TH Triple Crown Winner


was injured as the Santa Anita Derby approached. At the time, Justify was tick-eted for the Arkansas Derby, but Baffert called an audible. The colt’s disciplined, front-running victory on his home court over the accomplished Bolt d’Oro set the table for the Kentucky Derby and beyond.

Just as the majors in professional golf and tennis ask athletes distinct and demand-ing questions, each of the three legs of the American Triple Crown is a test of certain Thoroughbred attributes, beyond the abil-ity to run at a stout pace over a distance of ground.

In the Derby, Justify rose above the madding crowd and made his own pace over an imperfect surface, with Smith riding basically the same race he did aboard the Baffert-trained Bodemeister in 2012. Only this time there was no version of I’ll Have Another fi nishing well enough to beat them, as Smith used the weapon of Justify’s speed to perfection.

In the Preakness, the track again was a mess, but a horse like Justify never will be compromised by mud and water splash-ing him in the face, as long as he is getting solid purchase with every stride. Baffert ordered Smith to “come back clean,” and he did, even though it appeared as if Justify was being swarmed by late closers at the end.

In the Belmont, Justify and Smith neutralized the impact of the No. 1 post with a quick break, then relaxed into a rhythm of their own. The impact of stable-mate Restoring Hope on others in the fi eld raised questions, true enough. But at that point, six races and 111 days into Justify’s public life, it had become apparent that neither distance, surface, competition, pace, traffi c, weather, nor fl uctuations in the Dow Jones Industrial average could rattle his consummate poise.

His audience wants more, of course, and what excitement that would provide. For all his size, Justify has a way of bounding forward with a dancer’s grace that belies his 1,275 pounds and suggests that he could be that rare sound Thoroughbred of conspicuous dimensions. The mind reels at the thought of a full-grown Justify, facing all comers.

However, once the realities of the stal-lion market take control, chances are that further viewings will be limited. But even if Justify is not allowed to embellish his Triple Crown in the fashion of Secre-tariat, Seattle Slew, Affi rmed, or even American Pharoah, his place in the game is assured, echoing this exchange in the movie “Tombstone” between the two hard-nosed gunmen after watching Wyatt Earp eliminate a cohort of bad guys:

“You ever seen anything like that before?”“Hell, I ain’t never even heard of anything

like that.”

BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON

Mike Smith is all smiles after winning the Belmont Stakes aboard Justify and completing the fi rst Triple Crown for the Hall of Fame rider.



Baffert’s quest for a thirdCrown has already begun

By Steve Andersen

ARCADIA, Calif. – The gleaming colt, more than 1,200 pounds of him, strutted off a horse van on a recent Sunday afternoon and was walked into trainer Bob Baffert’s stable on the Santa Anita backstretch.

Justify was home, six weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby, four weeks after a victory in the fog of the Preakness Stakes, and a week and a day after sweeping the Triple Crown with an authoritative win in the Belmont Stakes.

Justify brought racing history back to California as Baffert’s second Triple Crown winner. Three years ago, American Phar-oah ended a 37-year drought in the series and gave the Hall of Fame trainer his great-est accomplishment. Baffert is now tied with Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons – who won the Triple Crown with Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935) – as the only trainers with two Triple Crown winners.

Baffert wants more. The latest mission was achieved with Justify. The next one is beginning this summer – fi nding a prospect suitable for the rigors of the Triple Crown,

one that could give Baffert a sixth Kentucky Derby win, an eighth victory in the Preak-ness, and a fourth win in the Belmont.

Perhaps the juvenile capable of such a sweep next spring is already in Baffert’s stable, as American Pharoah was at this time of 2014, or perhaps the colt will join the barn well into the fall, as Justify did last year.

“The 2-year-olds are coming in,” Baffert said on a recent morning in his stable offi ce.

“It makes you think. I hope there are a couple of superstars.”

With Justify at Santa Anita, Baffert was ready to enjoy the recent success and plan for the colt’s starts in the second half of the year. Justify may have only a brief campaign before going to stud, most likely in 2019.

Justify is the 13th winner of the Triple Crown. Even though his sweep arrived essentially on the heels of American Phar-oah, taking a small amount of luster from the achievement, Justify has been cele-brated in his own right.

“People love it when history is made,” Baffert said. “I wanted his name up there,

to be mentioned with the greats.”Justify, who is unbeaten in six starts, was

an unraced maiden on Valentine’s Day and did not debut until four days later. He won his stakes debut in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7, a month before the Kentucky Derby.

“It went by so fast,” Baffert said the day Justify returned to Santa Anita. “We can enjoy it now.”

At 65, Baffert says he has no desire to slow down, no interest in reducing the size of his stable, and no plan to change the focus of his operation. International events such as the Triple Crown, the Breeders’ Cup, the Dubai World Cup, and Pegasus World Cup provide ample goals for horses of all ages in his stable.

“I’m always asking, ‘How can I beat last year,’ ” Baffert said. “How can we outdo that? You have to stay on it and stay focused.”

In 2017, the stable earned $21,112,912, the fi rst-time it surpassed $20 million. The fi gure soared after Arrogate won the $16 million Pegasus World Cup and $10 million

EMILY SHIELDS

Bob Baffert and his wife, Jill, greet Triple Crown winner Justify on June 23, when the colt was paraded at Santa Anita.

Continued on page 8


Dubai World Cup in early 2017. By compari-son, Baffert’s runners through June 20 this year had earned $10,386,956.

“I get more motivated because I’m trying to beat last year,” he said. “If you have the clientele, you will have the right horses. I get to train for people that I really enjoy working with and you have their mutual respect. It takes the pressure off.

“I’m at a stage of my life they know I’m trying hard. They know I want to get them there.”

The list of prominent owners has evolved in the 27 years since Baffert made the full-time switch to Thoroughbred racing. From the late 1980s until November 1991, Baffert had a Quarter Horse division at Los Alami-tos and Thoroughbreds across town at Santa Anita. He switched entirely to Thor-oughbreds the day he won three races on California Cup Day in 1991.

In those years, Baffert was stabled adja-cent to the Hall of Fame trainer Charles Whittingham, who often would have a visit from his inquisitive neighbor asking about training methods.

“I would pick his brain,” Baffert said. “I’d go over there and just talk to him and ask, ‘Why did you do this and why did you do that?’ I wanted to learn. I wanted to take a

crash course, coming from Quarter Horses. You have to adjust.”

At fi rst, Mike Pegram and Hal Earn-hardt were his principal owners. They are still part of the team, which over the years has included the late owners Bob Lewis, John Mabee, and Ahmed Salman. Baffert trained horses for Kaleem Shah earlier this decade – winning the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic with Bayern – but the two split at the end of 2016.

These days, Baffert’s client list is more diverse in a stable with more than 100 runners. Ahmed Zayat, who owned Ameri-can Pharoah, has horses with Baffert. Justify is owned by an international part-nership of WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, and Star-light Racing. China Horse Club co-owns Abel Tasman, the champion 3-year-old fi lly of 2017 who is trained by Baffert.

Pegram owns horses in partnership with Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, including McKinzie, the multiple stakes-winning 3-year-old who was considered Baffert’s leading hope for this year’s Triple Crown until he was sidelined by injury in late March. Baffert also trains for Juddmonte Farms and Gary and Mary West, among many others.

Those clients provide Baffert with deep pockets at yearling and 2-year-olds in train-

ing sales. Baffert leaves those sales with horses that essentially are fi rst-round draft choices.

“We’re in a good situation and we can take advantage of that,” Baffert said.

Aided by longtime assistant Jimmy Barnes, Baffert has trained the last three champion 3-year-old males – American Pharoah, Arrogate, and West Coast – and will have a fourth with Justify.

“He’s a Hall of Famer 10 times over,” said Mike Smith, the regular rider of such Baffert-trained runners as Arrogate and Justify. “The last three or four horses he’s had would have been anyone’s Hall of Fame horse – Arrogate, American Pharoah. Those would make for a Hall of Fame career.”

For Baffert, the accomplishments have accumulated at a rate that hardly allows for refl ection.

“Four years straight?” he said, when reminded of the success with 3-year-olds. “I haven’t had a chance to think about it. We’re going and going. I don’t have a chance to let it soak in.”

American Pharoah and Justify prepared for Triple Crown success in different ways. American Pharoah was the champion 2-year-old male of 2014 and the focus of the buildup to the Triple Crown.


Bob Baffert stands with his two Triple Crown winners: Justify (left) and American Pharoah. Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons is the only other trainer to have won the Triple Crown twice, with Gallant Fox (1930) and Omaha (1935).


Continued on page 10


Justify arrived in California last Novem-ber, shortly after the Breeders’ Cup was held at Del Mar, and stayed with the barn’s second division at Los Alamitos for the fi rst two months before joining Baffert’s main stable at Santa Anita in mid-January.

“One thing they have in common is they prove themselves all the time,” Baffert said of the two Triple Crown winners. “It’s like boxing – they have to do it.”

Justify had seven workouts at Los Alami-tos in December and January under the direction of assistant trainer Mike Marlow.

“Mike has always been a good judge of horses,” Baffert said. “I remember him saying this could be any kind.”

Justify is expected to race only a few

more times before he is retired to stud, with the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3 an obvious goal. The colt’s value dictates that the business of racing outweighs the sporting interest of keeping him in training as an older horse.

“I understand the economics of the sport and the amount of insurance you have to pay on those horses,” Baffert said. “It’s like traveling around with the Mona Lisa in the back of your car. You have to be careful. You hate to see him go, but you think, ‘Don’t get a scratch on him.’ ”

Perhaps Justify should have been Baffert’s third or even fourth Triple Crown winner. With a little luck in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Baffert would have won his fi rst Triple Crown then.

Silver Charm, owned by Lewis, won

the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and fi nished a half-length behind Touch Gold in the 1997 Belmont Stakes. A year later, Pegram’s Real Quiet was beaten a nose by Victory Gallop in the Belmont in his attempt to win the Triple Crown. In 2001, Point Given, owned by Salman, was fi fth in the Kentucky Derby as the 9-5 favorite after a wide trip before winning the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

“I’d like to redo it with all those horses,” Baffert said. “Real Quiet still haunts me a little bit. Point Given could have done it.

“I’m proud they all fi red, and that’s all you can ask for.

“I wonder what I could have done differ-ently. It was overwhelming for me. I’ve got more experience now. When we get a good one, we know what to do with it.”


Bob Baffert and Justify pose for photos. Justify fi gures to be Baffert’s fourth straight 3-year-old champion, following American Pharoah (2015), Arrogate (2016), and West Coast (2017).



Triple Crown sweep provides Smith a happy homecoming

By David Grening

ELMONT, N.Y. – As the fi eld walked toward the starting gate for the Belmont Stakes, jockey Mike Smith, aboard Triple Crown hopeful Justify, looked up to the heavens. A big smile came across his face, as if he knew what was about to happen.

“I felt very good,” Smith said. “The weather cooled down, the wind kind of came, I felt so good. I couldn’t wait for the doors to open.”

When the doors opened, Justify broke on top. Nearly 2 1/2 minutes later, Smith and Justify crossed the fi nish line fi rst, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of runner-up Gronkowski, completing the 13th Triple Crown in history, and just the second by an undefeated horse.

“To do it back here in New York, it means more to me because New York is like my home,” said Smith, 52. “It’s the fi rst big-time place I came to. So blessed to do so well for so many years. Left here in 2001 and to come back and to continue to have success here is just incredible.”

Smith came to New York in the late 1980s, and in the mid-1990s he was the leading rider on this circuit, riding for some of the most powerful outfi ts, includ-ing the Phipps Stable. A severe back injury in 1998 caused him to miss some time and when he came back he fell out of favor with some of his usual clients.

He went to Southern California and

reinvented himself. Still, New York is where his heart is.

“This is the best stage in the United States, I would say the world,” Smith said.

Harry Rice was Smith’s valet when he arrived in New York nearly three decades ago. The tears were fl owing from Rice’s face after the Belmont.

“I never get emotional,” said Rice, who said he’s worked for Smith for 29 years.

“I married my wife a couple of weeks before, otherwise we’ve been together the longest time,” Rice said. “And he hasn’t changed a bit from the minute he walked into the jocks’ room.”

Rice said Smith’s decision to relocate to California “was a great move.”

“He had a chance to ride for some big outfi ts,” Rice said. “They kind of forgot about him here for a little bit. Maybe he came back a little too quick from his injury. It was a smart move. You see how good it worked out.”

John Velazquez was just getting his career started when Smith came to New York. Velazquez has carved out his own Hall of Fame career and ranks as the all-time leading jockey in purse money won, with Smith second. Velazquez fi nished fourth on Vino Rosso in the Belmont, but he couldn’t help but feel good for his friend.

“What a great moment for him to come back here and win the Triple Crown,” Velazquez said. “He’s my idol. He’s why

I’m still around. We’ve been friends for so long, and for him to get this at his age is incredible. I’m really glad for him.”

Chris McCarron, who once ruined a Triple Crown bid here in 1997 when Touch Gold beat Silver Charm, called Smith winning a Triple Crown at age 52 “unreal.”

“What he’s doing at his age is just phenomenal,” McCarron said. “It’s well deserved. He works his butt off. He’s very dedicated to what he’s doing, and I’m so proud to call him my friend.”

Victor Espinoza, who won the 2015 Triple Crown aboard American Pharoah, said it’s only been recently that he and Smith have developed a friendship.

“I told him, ‘Hey, lately you’ve been watching me too much, you’ve been learn-ing too much from me,’ ” said Espinoza, who did not have a mount in the Belmont. “But it was awesome. Quite an experience to experience two Triple Crowns for me, winning it and living to watch another Triple Crown.”

Bob Baffert, the trainer of Justify and American Pharoah, said, “Mike Smith, he deserves something like this.”

Maybe he did. In 2010, Smith lost the Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Zenyatta by a head, that mare’s only loss in a 20-race career.

“Now I know what perfection feels like,” Smith said. “He was perfection today, he really was.”

DEBRA A. ROMA

Jockey Mike Smith celebrates Justify’s Belmont Stakes victory. Smith, 52, rode regularly in New York earlier in his career.


Ownership by committee

Justify took his diverse ownership group on the ride of a lifetime

By Nicole Russo

It is said that a racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time. Certainly, when Justify turned for home in the Belmont Stakes, he was carrying far more than jockey Mike Smith with him. The Triple Crown winner’s ownership line in the program, listed in alphabetical order, included China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm – and that doesn’t even fully encompass the number of individuals with a vested rooting interest.

Justify was born at Glennwood Farm in Versailles, Ky., operated by the father-daughter team of John and Tanya Gunther.

“It’s been so exciting for the whole farm,” Tanya Gunther said. “Everyone is so excited they were part of this horse’s journey – they remember him as a foal, prepping him as a yearling, taking him to

the sale. It’s brought everyone together – they never thought this would happen, and they’re so proud. We’re so proud. I grew up thinking about Secretariat and watching those races, so to see our horse, his name with those great horses of history . . . wow.”

Justify, who is from the penultimate crop of Coolmore sire Scat Daddy, is out of Grade 3-placed Stage Magic. The Ghostzap-per mare also was bred, and campaigned, by the Gunthers, and there are physical and personality traits shared by the mare and her famed son.

“They’ve got a similar hind end, in terms of the hind leg,” Tanya Gunther said. “He’s a bigger, stronger ‘man’ of a horse, of course, but they do share a lot of similarities in terms of their physical traits. And she’s also a mare who knows what she wants. I’ve heard [trainer Bob Baffert] talk about how he’ll tolerate you for a minute and then


From left: Part-owners Sol Kumin, Lisa and Kenny Troutt, and Teo Ah Khin celebrate Justify’s Triple Crown victory at Belmont Park along with jockey Mike Smith and Bob and Jill Baffert.



he’s kind of done. She is exactly like that. When she’s foaled, she’ll let a couple people in there, but if there’s too many, she’ll let you know.”

Glennwood consigned Justify to the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale, where he went through the ring as Hip No. 50, in the early hours of the bellwether auction. Kenny and Lisa Troutt’s WinStar Farm, in partnership with the China Horse Club, appeared on the $500,000 sales ticket. Also involved in the purchase was SF Racing, overseen by executives from George Soros’s investment fi rm.

“This is a great ownership group,” WinStar president and chief executive Elliott Walden said after the Kentucky Derby. Teo Ah Khing “and the China Horse Club and SF Bloodstock, who is also involved with all our 3-year-olds. They just came to us two years ago. And we put together a partnership to try to buy some 3-year-old colts, yearling colts at the time. And it gave us more opportunity – typically, we would put 20 colts in training for this opportunity to try to get here each year. And it gave us an opportunity to put 30 with the extra resources.”

WinStar, which has won Eclipse Awards as both outstanding owner and breeder, was established in 2000 by Kenny Troutt

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Elliott Walden, president and CEO of WinStar Farm, walks Justify the day after the colt won the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown.Continued on page 16



and Bill Casner, who purchased the former Prestonwood Farm to house their opera-tion. Casner left the partnership in 2010. Over its fairly brief history compared to other prominent Kentucky operations, WinStar has grown by leaps and bounds and currently sprawls across 2,400 acres in Versailles. As it built up one of the larg-est stud rosters in the heart of horse coun-try, WinStar constructed a state-of-the-art new stallion facility in 2013 that currently houses 21 stallions.

“Our racing stable is geared towards trying to produce stallion opportunities,” Walden said. At the sales, “we fi rst look at pedigree and try to look through the cata-log . . . and then look for the right physical. That sounds easy, but it does eliminate a lot of horses that are potentially very good racehorses. You can fall in love with a horse physically, but then you look at the page, and you think, ‘Is this a horse that we’re going to stand in the stud barn?’ And the answer is no a lot of times, so we try to start with the end in mind.”

The China Horse Club, founded in 2013, is the brainchild of Malaysian billionaire Teo Ah Khing, a Harvard-educated archi-tect whose company designed and built Meydan, home of the Dubai World Cup. In seeking to develop the racing industry in China – which does not yet allow parimu-tuel wagering – Teo describes China Horse Club as a “lifestyle club,” attempting to build interest in the culture of high-end Thoroughbred racing.

“If I had to be honest with you, of course we set up a fi ve-year plan,” Teo said after the Belmont Stakes. “This is our third-year

plan. It has gone beyond our fi ve-year plan. We have to go back to the drawing board.”

Justify received his early training at WinStar Farm – and also, while there, received his offi cial name.

Executive assistant “Amy Nave helps me

with names, and she does a remarkable job because we have 30 to name each year, and we look for strong names that can be stallion kind of names. We’ve had Commis-sioner, Creator, Constitution, strong names,” Walden explained. “A lot of times we use biblical names, and Justify is a term in Romans 9 and 10, talks about being justi-fi ed by faith, and it was a name that was available.”

After Justify won his fi rst start impres-

sively on Feb. 18, the bandwagon needed more room. While SF Racing retained its breeding rights in the colt, it sold its racing rights to Sol Kumin’s Head of Plains Part-ners and to Jack and Laurie Wolf’s Star-light Racing in deals completed in March. Ten partners from Louisville are involved in Starlight’s share, and Justify made them the fi rst Louisville residents to own a Kentucky Derby winner since Old Rosebud, campaigned by H.C. Applegate in 1914.

“I was there for that,” Jack Wolf joked after the Derby.

Kumin focuses his wide-ranging Thor-oughbred investments on horses who have already proven themselves on the race-track.

“Obviously, our group was super-fortu-nate to be allowed to participate,” Kumin said of the stake in Justify. “I went out to the Santa Anita Derby and spent a lot of time with Bob, and I just saw the way he looked at this horse and the way he was acting around the barn. Came back and said this thing has got to be the real deal, because you could just feel it from his body language.”

Justify indeed proved to be the real deal, resulting in crowded winner’s circle cele-

brations at Churchill Downs, Pimlico, and Belmont Park. And while the colt is now back in California, training toward poten-tial summer and fall starts, his crew hasn’t given up the thrill of the Triple Crown chase.

WinStar and China Horse Club purchased 13 yearlings in partnership at last year’s Keeneland September sale, led by a $725,000 Ghostzapper colt now named Fearless.

The Kentucky Derby “is the race every-one wants to win,” Walden said as he and Troutt accepted the Kentucky Derby trophy at an annual ceremony in June at Churchill Downs. “That’s what we get up every morn-ing and try to do, year in, year out. Starting now, we’re looking for next year.”

Meanwhile, looking even farther down the road, the Gunthers have a yearling Will Take Charge colt at Glennwood who is a half-brother to their Triple Crown winner. The family may retain the colt and campaign him themselves.

“It’s so tempting to keep him and try to live the dream a little bit longer,” Tanya Gunther said.

“He’s a good-looking horse. The dream lives on.”

Jack Wolf


John Asher of Churchill Downs interviews Mike Smith, Bob Baffert, and Tanya Gunther of Glennwood Farm after Justify is paraded before fans on June 16.


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Speed to burn in career debutBy Steve Andersen

ARCADIA, Calif. – The brilliantly quick colt Justify joined trainer Bob Baffert’s deep list of contenders for the major stakes for 3-year-olds this year with a win in a seven-furlong maiden race in his debut at Santa Anita.

Justify, by Scat Daddy, was always near the front and won by 9 1/2 lengths in 1:21.86. Ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, Justify earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 104, the highest given to a 3-year-old at that point.

“That was pretty impressive,” Baffert said. “We knew he was special. He came out of it good, so we’re happy with that.”

“He’s got a natural stride and is naturally fast,” Van Dyke said. “That’s a deadly combo. He’s got a good mind.”

Baffert did not state any race plans for Justify, who is owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing and was purchased for $500,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September year-ling sale.

Justify set a solid pace of 21.80 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.37 for a half-mile before pulling clear in the stretch.

“I didn’t like him going that fast too early,” Baffert said.Van Dyke said Justify seemed to be setting a more modest

pace.“Bob said he was cussing me,” Van Dyke said.

MAIDEN SPECIAL WEIGHT • FEBRUARY 18, 2018

SHIGEKI KIKKAWA

Justify cruises to a 9 1/2-length debut victory at Santa Anita.

JUSTIFY: Quick, perfect path to CrownThere wasn’t much time for the racing

public to get acquainted with Justify, with just 111 days covering his maiden victory to the triumphant moment when he became Thoroughbred racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner in the sesquicen-tennial running of the Belmont Stakes.

Almost everyone knew his connec-tions, from his trainer, Bob Baffert, a Triple Crown winner just three years earlier with American Pharoah, to his

jockey, Mike Smith, rider of Zenyatta and more Breeders’ Cup winners than anyone in history, to his ownership group, which included WinStar Farm and its well-respected chief executive and racing manager, Elliott Walden.

The horse, however, was a chestnut-coated, white-faced blur, who blazed past mileposts in rapid succession: He scored a 104 Beyer Speed Figure in his very fi rst start, a high bar for a maiden winner;

won a Grade 1 in his third, which made him a strong favorite for the Kentucky Derby; toyed with the Derby fi eld to become the fi rst horse in 136 years to win the race without the benefi t of a start at 2; and fi nished off the Triple Crown unde-feated, only the second horse to do so, in a dominating, wire-to-wire performance.

On the following pages, we look at Justify’s meteoric rise, race by race, to the pinnacle of the Thoroughbred sport.

JustifyOwn: China Horse Club Head of Plains Partn

Ch. c. 3 (Mar) KEESEP16 $500,000

Sire: Scat Daddy (Johannesburg) $30,000

Dam:Stage Magic (Ghostzapper)

Br: John D. Gunther (Ky)

Tr: Baffert Bob(0 0 0 0 .00) 2018:(189 57 .30)

Life 6 6 0 0 $3,798,000 107

2018 6 6 0 0 $3,798,000 107

2017 0 M 0 0 $0 -

0 0 0 0 $0 -

D.Fst 3 3 0 0 $1,432,400 107Wet(391) 3 3 0 0 $2,365,600 103Synth 0 0 0 0 $0 -Turf(344) 0 0 0 0 $0 -Dst(0) 0 0 0 0 $0 -

9Þ18=11Bel fst 1¶ C 48 1:13¦2:02©2:28 Belmont-G1 101 1 /10 1¦ô 1¦ô 1§ 1§ 1¦ö Smith M E L126 *.80 93=07 Justify¦ö Gronkowski¦ö HofburgÉ Coax ins,drft bit,game19Ü18=13Pim slyø 1± C 47 1:11§1:36 1:55© Preaknes-G1 97 7 /8 1Ç 1Ç 1Ç 1ô 1ô Smith M E L126 *.40 93=09 Justifyô BravazoÉ TenfoldÉ 3-4w outs foe,lasted5Ü18=12CD slyø 1² ý 45¨ 1:11 1:37¦2:04¦ KyDerby-G1 103 7 /20 2ô 2ô 1¦ô 1§ô 1§ô Smith M E L126 *2.90 85=17 Justify§ô Good MagicÇ Audible¦ö Bid 3w, unwavering7ß18= 9SA fst 1° ÿ 47© 1:12¨1:37 1:49¨ SADerby-G1 107 6 /7 1¦ô 1¨ 1¦ô 1¦ô 1¨ Smith M E L124 *.90 90=19 Justify¨ Bolt d'Oro«ô Core Beliefs¦õ Drift out,in str,clear11à18= 5SA myø 1 22§ :45 1:09¨1:35¨ OC 75k/N1X -N 101 5 /5 3§ô 2¦ô 1§ô 1ª 1«ô Smith M E L120 *.05 92=20 Justify«ô Shivermetimbers¦õ Pepe TonoÉ Off step slow,handily18á18= 2SA fst 7f S 21© :44¦1:09 1:21© Md SpWt 54k 104 3 /5 5 1Ç 1ô 1ª 1®ô Van Dyke D L122b *.50 92=15 Justify®ô Cambyªô Paddock Pick¦¨ Dueled btwn,drew off

WinStar Farm, Starlight Racingers,ers,


ALLOWANCE/OPTIONAL CLAIMING • MARCH 11, 2018

Two turns presents zero problemsBy Jay Privman

ARCADIA, Calif. – Justify continued his belated push to the Kentucky Derby with a dazzling win in a fi rst-level allowance at Santa Anita, a race that should set him up ideally for a major stakes in early April.

The April stakes will be his one shot to earn enough points to run in the Derby on May 5.

The allowance was only his second start, and his fi rst around two turns, but he could not have been more impressive. After stalking a hot early pace, he surged powerfully to the lead on the far turn and coasted home 6 1/2 lengths best under jockey Mike Smith.

Justify was timed in 1:35.73 for one mile on a track rated muddy. He earned a second straight triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure with a 101, following the 104 Beyer in his fl ashy debut victory Feb. 18.

“He really passed his two-turn test with fl ying colors,” Smith said.

Smith said Justify had “the second-race jitters” early in the post parade, but was fi ne by the time he reached the starting gate. Justify started from the outside post in a fi eld of fi ve and stalked a brisk pace set by Calexman that went in 22.42 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.10 for a half-mile.

“He’s a young horse with a great mind,” Smith said. “He settled, took a little dirt. He kept passing every test and he’s gear-ing down” at the end of the race.

Smith said the electrifying move Justify made at the three-furlong pole “just came so natural.”

“He switched leads and opened up,” Smith said.

Smith said he “could go the extra quar-ter-mile,” referencing the Derby’s 1 1/4 miles.

“Believe it or not, there’s room to improve,” Smith said.

Bob Baffert, who trains Justify, was en route to Ocala, Fla., for a 2-year-old sale. Justify was saddled by his top assistant, Jimmy Barnes. Baffert, via text from the plane after the race, wrote, “Perfect race.”

Justify, a colt by Scat Daddy, won his fi rst start sprinting at Santa Anita under Drayden Van Dyke, but it has always been known this is Smith’s mount.

Smith may have a decision to make in coming weeks, though, if Justify makes his next start April 7. That is the date McKinzie is set to run in the Santa Anita Derby. It’s hard to imagine Baffert running Justify against McKinzie. Options include the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and Blue

Grass at Keeneland, both of which are also on April 7. The Arkansas Derby, another potential option, is April 14, but both Baffert and the Justify’s ownership group – China Horse Club, WinStar Farm and partners – have other potential runners for that race, too.

There’s a lot to sort out in coming weeks.Justify is attempting to become the fi rst

horse to win the Kentucky Derby without a start at age 2 since Apollo in 1882.

He was heavily favored and paid $2.10 each to win, place, and show, and caused minus pools in all three pools.


Justify, Mike Smith up, ran a mile in 1:35.73 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 101 in his second start. The win sets him up for a shot at a major stakes in April.

“Believe it or not, there’s room to improve.”

– Mike Smith after guiding Justify to a6 1/2-length allowance win going a

mile in the colt’s second start


SANTA ANITA DERBY • APRIL 7, 2018

Grade 1 victory erases any doubt

By Jay Privman

ARCADIA, Calif. – Mike Smith, genuine awe in his voice, kept coming back to the same phrase as he walked down the tunnel and past the walking ring after he rode Justify to a victory in the Santa Anita Derby.

“He’s just so talented,” Smith would begin, and then point out something Justify has done in his brief career to back up that senti-ment – winning a major race against a stal-wart like Bolt d’Oro, in only his third career start, in his stakes debut, and on a main track that was fast but tiring. Over and over, Smith would return to that phrase, “He’s just so talented.”

Consider this: It was only on Feb. 18 that Justify made the first start of his career. That was three weeks before Bolt d’Oro, already a two-time Grade 1 winner, would make his 3-year-old debut and his fifth career start. Yet in less than two months, and in only his third start, Justify turned back Bolt d’Oro in the Grade 1, $1 million Santa Anita Derby, a performance that will send both to Churchill Downs on May 5 as major players for the Kentucky Derby.

That’s raw talent.Justify no doubt benefi ted by getting an

uncontested lead, but he was giving away plenty of experience to Bolt d’Oro, and held Bolt d’Oro safe through the lane for a three-length victory in the West’s major prep for

SHIGEKI KIKKAWA

Justify remains unbeaten in three career starts by winning the Santa Anita Derby by three lengths ahead of Bolt d’Oro.


the Kentucky Derby, a win worth 100 points to guarantee Justify a berth in the 20-horse Derby fi eld. It was a satisfying result in that both colts showed up and ran well, were well clear of everyone else, and confi rmed that they have the bona fi des.

“If he moves forward off this like he should, he’ll be tough,” Smith said after Justify completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.72; the track was dull, so the Beyer Speed Figure came back strong, 107.

“A mile and an eighth is pretty test-ing for a horse who’s just run twice,” Smith said. “He’s really talented. That’s a really good horse trying to catch him.”

Indeed, Bolt d’Oro was coming off a victory via disqualifi cation in the San Felipe four weeks ago, and he ran his typical courageous race.

“Very good race, best horses in the country,” said his jockey, Javier Castel-

lano. “Second-best today. There will be more speed in the Derby.”

Justify ($3.80), the favorite, used his natural speed to get to the top in 23.96 seconds for the opening quarter, then led through a half in 47.85 and six furlongs in 1:12.61, with Bolt d’Oro about three lengths back down the backside.

“Going to the turn I let him go with his big, long legs,” Smith said. “Bolt d’Oro has a big turn of foot. I didn’t want to get caught off guard.”

Bolt d’Oro tried him, but Justify repelled Bolt d’Oro. Justify drifted out a bit into the lane, and Bolt d’Oro dived back inside him, but Justify kept to his task and never let the result be in doubt.

“This should really move him up,” said Bob Baffert, who trains Justify and was winning the Santa Anita Derby for a record eighth time. “The track’s a little

deep today. He does it effortlessly. He’s still learning. He’s a beast. I’m just glad I have him.”

Bolt d’Oro fi nished six lengths clear of third-place Core Beliefs, then came Instilled Regard, Pepe Tono, Orbit Rain, and Jimmy Chila.

Justify, a son of the late Scat Daddy, is owned by a partnership that includes China Horse Club, Head of Plains Part-ners, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm, whose white and green silks Smith wore in the Santa Anita Derby. He was a $500,000 yearling purchase and earned $600,000 for the victory.

Justify is now perfect in three starts. He beat maidens sprinting Feb. 18, then on March 11 beat a fi rst-level allowance fi eld going 1 1/16 miles. That was his foundation before Saturday.

“He’s still learning,” Smith said. “Just raw talent.”

Grade 1 victory erases any doubtSANTA ANITA DERBY • APRIL 7, 2018


KENTUCKY DERBY • MAY 5, 2018

‘Curse of Apollo’ fi nally put to rest

By Jay Privman

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The eagle has landed.The moon shot of trying to win the

Kentucky Derby with a horse who never raced at 2, which hadn’t been done since Apollo in 1882, fi nally ended on a rainy, dreary day at Churchill Downs that was in contrast to the ray of sunshine on the race-track.

Justify, in a brilliant performance for any horse, let alone a 3-year-old colt who had a

mere three starts to his name, set a wicked pace, disposed of an early challenger, then more serious bids from Bolt d’Oro and then the champion colt Good Magic, and prevailed in the 144th Derby, giving trainer Bob Baffert his fi fth Derby, second best all-time.

“He ranks right up there with my top ones,” said Baffert, who in a recent inter-view repeatedly referred to Justify as a “superior racehorse,” words he uttered for his top-class colts American Pharoah, the

2015 Triple Crown winner, and Arrogate far deeper into their careers. “It took a great horse to do what he did today.”

What Justify did was fl y out of the gate under jockey Mike Smith and take up residence just outside Promises Fulfi lled through a torrid opening quarter in 22.24 seconds and opening half in 45.77. The pace was enervating for Promises Fulfi lled, who began to weaken nearing the far turn after six furlongs in 1:11.01, and – underscoring how well Justify ran – faded to 15th.

JIM LEUENBERGER

Justify (right) and Mike Smith turn for home in the Kentucky Derby, with Good Magic (left) giving chase and Bold d’Oro falling back from between them. Justify became the fi rst horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Derby without having raced at 2.




Bolt d’Oro, who had been sitting just behind the top two, made a mild run at Justify going around the far turn, but he too couldn’t keep up with the demanding pace and dropped away before the quarter pole. Next came Good Magic, who ranged up outside Justify at the top of the stretch and loomed a threat, but he, too, could not get to Justify, and by the furlong pole, Justify had a 2 1/2-length lead that he maintained all the way to the wire.

Good Magic held on for second, a head in front of Audible, who encountered traffi c trouble down the backstretch and more just before the quarter pole before rallying up the rail for third. Instilled Regard was fourth, then came, in order, My Boy Jack, Bravazo, Hofburg, Lone Sailor, Vino Rosso, Solomini, Firenze Fire, Bolt d’Oro, Flameaway, Enticed, Promises Fulfi lled, Free Drop Billy, Noble Indy, Combatant, Magnum Moon, and Mendelssohn.

The early pace and a track rendered sloppy by day-long rain resulted in a race that was fast early, slow late, with Justify completing 1 1/4 miles in 2:04.20. He was given a Beyer Speed Figure of 103.

The victory was signifi cant on many levels.Justify ($7.80) became the sixth straight favorite

to win the Derby since Churchill Downs switched to a points system to determine the starting fi eld. He also became the ninth horse to win the Derby while still unbeaten.

Baffert, with his fi fth win, now trails only the late Ben Jones, who won the Derby six times, among trainers.

For Smith, it was his second Derby victory, having won previously with the longshot Giacomo in 2005. Smith, 52, also became the second-oldest jockey to win the Derby, behind Bill Shoemaker, who was 54 when he won in 1986.

Justify is owned by a partnership that includes Sol Kumin, who is a co-owner of Monomoy Girl, winner of the Kentucky Oaks. Kumin became the fi rst owner to win the Derby and Oaks in the same year since 1952.

Another co-owner, the WinStar Farm of Kenny Troutt, was winning the Derby for the second time, following Super Saver in 2010.

And a third co-owner, Starlight Racing, is managed by Jack Wolf, a resident of Louisville who became the fi rst local since 1914 to own a Derby winner.

Derby Day dawned cloudy, but then a record-setting rain moved in and wouldn’t leave, like a bad houseguest. More than 2 1/2 inches fell from midnight until post time for the Derby, eclipsing the previous Derby Day record of 2.31 inches set exactly 100 years ago. The day-long rain forced many of the crowd of 157,813 – the eighth-largest in Derby history – to take shelter inside. The rain, which resulted in fl ash-fl ood warnings in the area, also turned the track to slop, marking the fi fth time in the last 10 years that the Derby was run on an off track.

But neither the crowded stands, crowded paddock, nor crowded 20-horse starting gate



‘Curse of Apollo’ fi nally put to restrattled Justify. Showing maturity beyond his three races, he saddled without incident and was well behaved in the post parade.

A major key to Justify’s success, Baffert and Smith knew, was in the start, and Smith was aggressive leav-ing the gate from post 7, allowing him to take up an ideal position just outside of Promises Fulfilled. There was much trouble farther out leaving the gate, where Magnum Moon, from post 16, veered in sharply, bothering Instilled Regard and, far more significantly, Mendelssohn, who was clobbered a few strides out of the gate and found himself in an untenable position from which he never recovered.

“When he got away clean, I thought he had a chance,” Baffert said. But as the frac-tions unfolded on the television on which

Baffert watched the race, “I thought he was going to lay down.”

After turning away several challengers, though, the last being Good Magic, it was obvious Justify was home.

“The last eighth, when I knew he was going to win, I was in awe,” Baffert said. “That’s the best Kentucky Derby-winning performance of a horse I’ve had.”

Justify, by the late sire Scat Daddy, was purchased as yearling for $500,000 by Elliott Walden, the chief executive of WinStar. Over time, the partnership grew to include Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, and the China Horse Club headed by Teo Ah Khing.

Walden manages the horse for the part-nership and decided to send the colt to Baffert.

“We knew we had something really special,” Baffert said after the race. “But he had to prove it today.

“It’s like having LeBron,” he said, refer-ring to basketball star LeBron James. “You better win a championship.”

Baffert fi rst realized he had something special in Justify when he arrived at his barn at Santa Anita and had his fi rst work-out. On the morning of his fi rst start, Feb. 18, Baffert said, “I’ve got big plans for that colt this afternoon.”

Justify won that day, next took an allow-ance race, then captured the Santa Anita Derby. In the space of just 48 days, he went from an unstarted maiden to the winner of the West’s major prep for the Kentucky Derby.

And then four weeks later, not even three months after his fi rst race, the moon shot Baffert mapped out with Justify touched down perfectly in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs. After all the nervous-ness and fretting, the Apollo mission was complete. Justify was at Tranquility Base.


BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON JIM LEUENBERGER

Justify and Mike Smith win the Kentucky Derby in the slop at Churchill Downs. For Justify, the win came in only his fourth start. He won a maiden race Feb. 18 at Santa Anita in his debut, followed by an allowance race and the Santa Anita Derby.


PREAKNESS STAKES • MAY 19, 2018

Two-thirds of the way to glory

By Jay Privman

BALTIMORE – They charged into the fi rst turn, right together. Justify and Good Magic, one-two in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, had hooked up early in the 143rd Preakness Stakes, and then, upon reaching the clubhouse turn, they were gone, swal-lowed whole by the jaws of the fog that had descended upon Pimlico.

Cameras wired to big-screen monitors in the infi eld tried mightily to follow the action, but there was a moment around the far turn and entering the lane when nothing could be seen. The anticipation was palpable. What would emerge from this fog – something sinister, like out of the John Carpenter fi lm, or the clear realization that another Triple Crown bid would be nigh?

Justify had the answer. He came out of the swirling mist as he was starting to get the best of Good Magic, but as he neared the fi nish, the longshots Tenfold and then Bravazo made their bids. Justify, though, held on, responding to the steady left-handed whip of his jockey, Mike Smith. It was his hardest race yet, since his career

began a mere 13 weeks ago, but was clear evidence, again, that he is the best 3-year-old of this crop, one who has won fi ve races, including two Triple Crown races, in three months.

Whether that will add up to a Belmont Stakes victory in three weeks will be dissected and parsed over the next 21 days. Was this analogous to American Pharoah’s hard-fought victory in the Derby, which launched him in 2015 to runaway victories in the Preakness and Belmont, or will it take just enough starch out of Justify to make the Triple Crown elusive?

What was certain was that Justify had been tested like never before. Good Magic, last year’s champion 2-year-old male, was sent along from inside of Justify, and turned it into an early match race. Justify won that battle, and won the war.

“These great horses defi ne themselves when they get in this situation,” said Bob Baffert, who trains Justify. “They put it to us, like they had their own private match race. Great horses handle all that pressure and keep on running. Good Magic, he really made us work for it.”

The early duel allowed the others to make a race of it. Justify ($2.80), the heavy favor-ite, reached the wire a half-length in front of Bravazo, who was a neck better than Tenfold, who was a neck in front of Good Magic. Lone Sailor was another length back in fi fth, beaten just two lengths, then it was a long way back to Sporting Chance, Diamond King, and Quip, who tired badly and wound up last in the fi eld of eight.

All the fractions belonged to Justify. He led after a quarter in 23.11 seconds, a half in 47.19, six furlongs in 1:11.42, and one mile in 1:36.10 en route to a fi nal time of 1:55.93 for 1 3/16 miles on a track rated sloppy. He received a Beyer Speed Figure of 97, the fi rst time he has had a fi g of less than 101.

Justify thus heads to the 1 1/2-mile Belmont on June 9 in New York with a chance to become the sport’s 13th Triple Crown winner and second this decade, following the Baffert-trained American Pharoah, who in 2015 became the fi rst Triple Crown winner in 37 years.

Justify is the fi rst horse who did not race at age 2 to win both the Derby and the Preak-ness. He made his fi rst start Feb. 18. What he


On a wet, foggy day at Pimlico, Justify held on to win the Preakness Stakes, giving racing fans a dose of Triple Crown fever.


has accomplished to date is unprecedented.“He’s had a lot of hard races in a row,”

Baffert said. “This reminded me a lot of American Pharoah’s Derby. You can only get away with that when you have a superior horse like he is.”

Baffert has proven himself a superior trainer, too, and this victory was record-equaling on two fronts. Baffert has now won 14 Triple Crown races, tying him with D. Wayne Lukas for most among trainers all-time, and this was his seventh Preak-ness victory, tying him for the most in the race’s history with R. Wyndham Walden, who plied his trade in the late 1800s.

Baffert has won the Derby fi ve times, and all fi ve of his Derby winners have now come back and won the Preakness. His four previous horses who pulled off that double all went on to attempt a Triple Crown sweep in the Belmont. American Pharoah got it done, Real Quiet and Silver Charm suffered close defeats, and War Emblem was well beaten after stumbling badly leaving the gate.

Now comes Justify, who has won his fi rst two Triple Crown races on off tracks.

Pimlico offi cials said more than seven inches of rain fell here beginning Tues-day, and though it fi nally relented midway through the card Saturday, it remained cloudy and the track was a sea of slop. Then, later in the day, rising temperatures produced fog that obscured many of the portions of the track not already blocked by a concert stage, party tents, and other obsta-cles in the infi eld. By the time the Preakness was run, the fog was as thick as it had been all day.

Justify broke well from the gate from post 7. “He wouldn’t take his eyes off those doors until they opened,” Smith said. But then Good Magic, who started from post 5, came right up inside of him. It was not planned, according to Jose Ortiz, the jockey on Good Magic.

“That wasn’t the plan, my fault,” Ortiz said. “Post position hurt me a little bit, prob-ably if I would have drawn outside it would have been much better, he would have settled better.”

Too late. They were locked in battle. As they went into the fi rst turn, Smith said Justify jumped tracks left by the wheels of temporary bridges on which patrons go to and from the infi eld between races. “He really got to slipping,” said Smith, who said Justify wasn’t comfortable again until he straightened into the back-stretch.

And then around the far turn, even on the track monitors, they disappeared in the fog.

“It seemed like an eternity,” said Elliott Walden, president and chief executive offi -cer of WinStar Farm, one of the owners of Justify. “Where are they? Where are they? He went into the turn in front. I was hoping to see those white silks in front.”

They were. Justify kept his head in front of Good Magic into the lane, and though Good Magic began to weaken, there were new challenges for Smith and Justify to fend off, from Bravazo and Tenfold, and he kept them all at bay.

“Although he got tired, he was looking around,” Smith said. “A bit of his greenness came out. This was by far his hardest race.”

The Preakness, with a purse of $1.5

million, was worth $900,000 to the winning partnership, which includes WinStar, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, and Starlight Racing.

Justify has come a long way in a short amount of time. A lot has been thrown at him, and each time he has handled it. He won the Santa Anita Derby in just his third start, became the fi rst horse in 136 years to win the Derby without a start at 2, and on Saturday here at Pimlico let neither rain nor a sloppy track nor fog accompanied by the creeping gloom of night keep him from his appointed rounds. He delivered.

– additional reporting by David Grening

PREAKNESS STAKES • MAY 19, 2018

Two-thirds of the way to glory


BELMONT STAKES • JUNE 9, 2018

Triple Crowning achievement

By Jay Privman

ELMONT, N.Y. – On Feb. 18, Justify made his fi rst start. On June 9, he made his sixth. The number of days that encom-passes is 111. In other words, won, won, won.

He won the Kentucky Derby. He won the Preakness. And, before an appreciative crowd at Belmont Park, Justify led every step of the 150th Belmont Stakes, becom-ing the 13th horse to sweep the Triple Crown, the second this decade, the second to do so while undefeated, but the fi rst to do so without ever having raced at age 2.

Justify now will have his name on a list that includes Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretar-iat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, and Ameri-can Pharoah. After a drought of 37 years between Affirmed in 1978 and American Pharoah in 2015, the Triple Crown has now been won twice, just three years apart.

What American Pharoah and Justify have in common is that both are trained by Bob Baffert, who became the second person – following Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons more than 80 years ago – to train two Triple Crown winners.

Baffert months ago had telegraphed the

unique talent he believed Justify possessed. On the morning of his fi rst start, after training wound down at Santa Anita, he said, “I’ve got big plans for that colt.”

Less than four months later, Justify was draped in carnations in the winner’s circle at Belmont Park, having won the Triple Crown, a remarkable achievement for a horse who, with his late start, had to play catch-up. But talent trumped experience.

“I wanted to see that horse’s name up there,” Baffert said. “He’s been brilliant from Day 1.”

Baffert said he thought Justify could emulate American Pharoah because “he was showing me all the signs.”

“He’s a superior horse,” said Baffert, adding that winning a second Triple Crown “feels pretty good.”

Justify was ridden by Mike Smith, a Hall of Fame jockey who won the Triple Crown for the fi rst time and, at age 52, became the oldest jockey to sweep the series.

“He’s so gifted. He’s sent from heaven,” said Smith, a devoutly religious person who always begins his post-race interviews by citing his faith.

“To win six races in this time, he’s an unbelievable horse,” Smith said.

Both Baffert and Smith were emotional after the race, Baffert even more so. He said he “had a lot of help from upstairs,” a refer-

ence not only to his late parents but also to his close friend Brad McKinzie, an execu-tive at Los Alamitos who died last year and whose namesake colt Baffert thought earlier this year might be his best Triple Crown hope.

But after the colt McKinzie went to the sidelines in late March, Justify continued his rapid ascent, winning the Santa Anita Derby in his third start and then all three Triple Crown races.

“He’s just a magnifi cent animal,” said Baffert, who called Justify “one of those all-time great horses.”

Justify ($3.60) was favored, as he has been in all his starts. He exuded confi -dence before the race, never becoming rattled by the unfamiliar paddock nor the crush of people watching his every move.

There were few instructions from Baffert.

“The gas tank’s full. Don’t use it all at once,” Baffert told Smith.

Justify started from the rail, with nine rivals lined up to his outside. Because of his draw, he was the fi rst loaded into the gate, and Smith was intent on leaving alertly for a race that starts in front of the grandstand and encompasses one lap around Belmont Park’s main track.

“The whole time, he was so profes-sional,” Smith said. “The crowd was


With Mike Smith aboard, Justify wins the Belmont Stakes and becomes racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner in only his sixth start.



Triple Crowning achievementscreaming.”

Smith said Justify left the gate “like he was going 440 yards at Ruidoso.”

“He broke better today than the other two,” Smith said, referring to the Derby and Preakness, “which was very impor-tant. Then he got into that rhythm of his. I kept a leg on each side and my mind in the middle.”

Justify went fast for the opening quarter, 23.37 seconds, but then Smith got him to go in a more sensible manner for the next half-mile, and they reached six furlongs in 1:13.21.

Baffert’s other runner, the longshot Restoring Hope, had been in closest atten-dance early while being kept wide, with Bravazo also forwardly placed. As the fi eld went around the far turn, Justify inched away from his rivals, and then they came closer. Smith was playing with them, and Justify was a willing partner.

“He listens to you,” Smith said.Justify passed the mile mark in 1:38.09,

then threw another 24-second-and-change quarter at his rivals to reach the quar-ter pole in 2:02.90. Restoring Hope and Bravazo were done.

Justify entered the lane with a two-length lead, with Vino Rosso closest but beginning to weaken after gaining ground on the far turn. It was the Euro-


RONNIE BETOR

Mike Smith, 52, celebrates the fi rst Triple Crown sweep of his career.



Triple Crowning achievementpean import Gronkowski who then loomed the biggest threat. Last early, Gronkowski closed sharply on the far turn while saving ground under Jose Ortiz, then switched out in upper stretch to try to run down Justify.

“Man, he dug back in,” Smith said of Justify.

There was no catching him. Justify maintained a safe margin to the wire and crossed the fi nish 1 3/4 lengths in front of Gronkowski, who was 1 3/4 lengths in front of third-place Hofburg. Vino Rosso was fourth and was followed by Tenfold, Bravazo, Free Drop Billy, Restoring Hope, Blended Citizen, and Noble Indy.

Justify completed the 1 1/2 miles on the fast main track in 2:28.18. His Beyer Speed Figure for the race is 101.

Smith understood the magnitude of the

moment. He brought Justify back toward the winner’s circle but then took him up the stretch, past the furlong pole – much as Victor Espinoza had done with American Pharoah in 2015 – for a curtain call so the fans could show their appreciation.

They knew they had witnessed some-thing special. No horse has ever been on such an accelerated schedule to win the Triple Crown. But Justify – a big, strong colt – had the physical build and mental fortitude to handle it all.

“He’s never had a break, like a Quar-ter Horse running every week, trials and fi nals,” said Baffert, who long ago began his training career with Quarter Horses.

Justify, a colt by the late Scat Daddy, races for a partnership that includes the WinStar Farm of Kenny Troutt, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing, and Head of Plains Part-ners. It was WinStar president and chief

executive Elliott Walden who decided last fall to send Justify to Baffert.

Baffert knew what he had early on and never saw anything to make him change his mind. After his third start, he started calling Justify a “superior horse,” a phrase he had used for American Pharoah and Arrogate – another recent star – further into their careers.

The morning after the Preakness, Baffert took a reporter into Justify’s stall to admire the colt’s physical presence and then remarked, “You’ll never see another horse like this.”

And then the day before the Belmont, Baffert said: “This is the best he’s been. If he’s great, he’ll win the Triple Crown.”

“He’s just a magnifi cent animal,” Baffert said Saturday.

In less than four months, all that has proven to be justifi ed.



Justify pedigree follows a Triple Crown pattern

How do you breed a Triple Crown winner? Short answer: Breed the dam of at least two high-quality stakes winners to a leading sire.

That description, of course, could be applied to hundreds of foals born every year, but only 13 out of the thousands of foals matching those qualifi cations born in America in the 102 years since Sir Barton was foaled at Hamburg Place in 1916 have won the Triple Crown. Still, that is the best summary description available of the aver-age short pedigree of the 13 Triple Crown winners.

Seven of the 13 sires of Triple Crown winners led the American sire list at least once for a total of 27 sire championships. And Scat Daddy, sire of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, led the sire list in Chile four times and stands in second place on the 2018 general sire list, about $1 million behind leader Candy Ride. If Justify remains as dominant for the second half of the season and Scat Daddy’s other prominent runners such as champion Lady Aurelia and Grade 1 winners Mendelssohn, Daddys Lil Darling, Celestine, and Sioux Nation continue to do their part, Scat Daddy seems destined to earn his fi rst American sire championship this season.

Winner of the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at 2 and the Grade 1 Florida Derby at 3, Scat Daddy is the best horse sired by 2001 American and European champion 2-year-old male Johannesburg and is a full brother to stakes winner Grand Daddy and a half-brother to stakes winner Antipathy (by A.P. Indy out of Love Style, by Mr. Prospector).

Retired to Ashford Stud in 2008 after breaking down in the Kentucky Derby, Scat Daddy was hardly expected to develop into a leading sire. His success is a testimony to the power of globalism in the contem-porary Thoroughbred marketplace. His fi rst American crop featured 10 stakes winners, including Grade 1 winner Lady of Shamrock, and his annual shuttle to Chile yielded 10 Chilean champions and four Chilean sire championships. Although his subsequent American crops continued to produce graded stakes winners, it was the success of European-raced Lady Aurelia, No Nay Never, and Caravaggio that set off the Scat Daddy craze that was evident in the $3 million sale-topping purchase price


Justify is by Scat Daddy and out of the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic. He was a $500,000 purchase at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale.

JUSTIFYChestnut ColtFoaled Feb. 28, 2015in Kentucky

Stage Magic 07

Johannesburg 99

Love Style 99

Ghostzapper 00

Magical Illusion 01

Hennessy 93

Myth 93

Storm Cat 83

Island Kitty 76

Ogygian 83

Yarn 87

Raise a Native 61

Gold Digger 62

Nijinsky II 67

Personable Lady 81

Deputy Minister 79

Primal Force 87

Relaunch 76

Thirty Zip 83

A.P. Indy 89

Preach 89

Baldski 74

Cap the Moment 80

Mr. Prospector 70

Likeable Style 90

Awesome Again 94

Baby Zip 91

Pulpit 94

Voodoo Lily 87

Scat Daddy 04

JOHN P. SPARKMAN


of Mendelssohn at Keeneland in 2016.As of June 10, Scat Daddy had sired 101

black-type winners from 951 foals age 3 and up. That outstanding 10.6 percent strike rate, and 25 Grade 1/Group 1 winners made his sudden death from a heart attack in December 2016 particularly unfortunate. The exploits of Justify and Mendelssohn this year have magnifi ed the depth of that tragedy.

The 13 American Triple Crown winners descend from 12 different female fami-lies when traced along the bottom line to the earliest known mare along that line recorded in Volume 1 of the General Stud Book. Only two, Gallant Fox and Assault, descend from the same mare, a mare named Violet, by the Layton Barb, whose further antecedents are unknown.

Since taproot mares like Violet are on

average about 25 generations removed from contemporary Thoroughbreds, their infl u-ence is obviously inconsequential, but it is clear that dams of Triple Crown winners are almost always truly exceptional brood-mares. Ten of the 13 produced at least one other graded stakes winner or the equiva-lent before the graded system was inaugu-rated in 1973, and fi ve produced additional Grade 1-level winners.

Those statistics, of course, refl ect the mare’s career produce record, and some produced their other good horses after their Triple Crown winner. Justify’s Grade 3-winning half-brother The Lieu-tenant, by Street Sense, is two years older than Justify, but did not win his Grade 3 until this year. When his breeder, John Gunther’s Glennwood Farm, sold Justify for $500,000 to WinStar-associated Maver-

ick Racing and China Horse Club at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale, The Lieutenant was listed in the catalog as a winner at 3.

His dam, Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper, had placed in the Grade 3 Gardenia Stakes, and his second dam, Magical Illusion, by Pulpit, placed in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, but you had to read back to his third dam, Grade 3 winner Voodoo Lily, by Baldski, to fi nd a stakes winner.

A good horse, of course, makes his own pedigree, as consignors are wont to say, and Justify has immortalized his own lineage. With only 13 Triple Crown winners in 99 years, fi guring out which of the thousands of horses with similar credentials might be the 14th Triple Crown winner is the chal-lenge that makes Thoroughbred racing the world’s greatest game.


Scat Daddy, who died in December 2016 as the result of a heart attack at age 12, has sired 101 black-type winners.

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PORTRAITS OF PERFECTION

Above: Justify walks to the track before a training session at Churchill Downs.

Left: In his fi rst try at a mile, in March at Santa Anita, Justify easily wins, fi nishing 6 1/2 lengths ahead of the fi eld.

PHOTOS BY BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON


A record-setting rainfall didn’t stop

Justify from ending the Curse of Apollo,

becoming the fi rst horse in 136 years

to win the Kentucky Derby without racing

as a 2-year-old.DEBRA A. ROMA

JUSTIN N. LANE


Justify jumps tire tracks while splashing through the sloppy going in the fi rst quarter-mile of the Preakness.


BEYER SIRE Performance Standings

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Top: Fog hangs thick over Pimlico as Justify hits the wire in the Preakness.

Above: Justify holds off a charge from Bravazo (left) in the fi nal yards to win the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

Left: Mike Smith celebrates after winning the Kentucky Derby.

DEBRA A. ROMA




Right: Justify breaks from the 1 post at the start of the 150th Belmont Stakes.

Below: Justify grabbed the lead early and never looked back as he became the 13th

Triple Crown winner.

Bottom: Justify is led to the track for the Belmont Stakes.

RONNIE BETOR

DEBRA A. ROMA BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON


Above: Fans gather to take photos as Justify is paraded through the paddock at Churchill Downs six weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby.

KELSEY DANNER


Find out more at DRF.com/breeding

Congratulations to all the connections on Justify’s historic win, Breeders John Gunther & Tanya Gunther,

Owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing & Head of Plains, LLC, trainer Bob Baffert and his team,

and jockey Mike Smith.

”At WinStar, we rely on the DRF for useful racing data and as a marketing tool that reaches a wide audience. There is not more of a complete reach in the industry.”

Elliott Walden President, CEO, & Racing Manager

WinStar Farm

Daily Racing Form has the breeding and sales industries COVERED


Ch. c., 1916, by Star Shoot—Lady Sterling, by HanoverOWNER: J.K.L. RossBREEDER: Madden and Gooch (Ky.)TRAINER: H.G. BedwellJOCKEY: Johnny LoftusRACE RECORD: 31 starts ages 2-4, 13 wins, 6 seconds, 5 thirds, $116,857.AT 2: 2nd, Belmont Futurity. AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Withers, Potomac H., Maryland H., etc.AT 4: Won Saratoga H., Dominion H., Merchants and Citizens H., Climax H., Rennert H.

In 1919, Sir Barton, son of the blind Star Shoot, entered the Kentucky Derby as one of the lesser lights in trainer Guy Bedwell’s barn, his role in the race to serve as a pacemaker for more highly regarded stablemate Billy Kelly. But Sir Barton went to the lead and never looked back, winning by fi ve lengths. Owned by Canadian sportsman Cmdr. J.K.L. Ross, Sir Barton raced to lengthy victories in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes en route to winning 8 of 13 starts at 3.

At 4, he was unfi t when defeated by Man o’ War in a match race in the Kenilworth Gold Cup, though Man o’ War undoubtedly was the superior horse, no matter the circumstances. Sir Barton retired to stud after that race but turned out to be a poor sire, ultimately sold to the U.S. Cavalry Remount Service. He died in Wyoming in 1937.

B. c., 1927, by Sir Gallahad III—Marguerite, by CeltOWNER-BREEDER: Belair Stud (Ky.)TRAINER: James FitzsimmonsJOCKEY: Earl SandeRACE RECORD: 17 starts ages 2-3, 11 wins, 3 seconds, 2 thirds, $328,165.AT 2: Won Junior Champion, Flash.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Dwyer, Lawrence Realiza-tion, Wood Memorial, etc.

Gallant Fox, owned and bred by Belair Stud, the nom de course of New York banker and Jockey Club Chairman William Woodward, was a good but not great 2-year-old, winning several stakes.

He blossomed into an imposing indi-vidual at 3 when he defeated rivals such as Questionnaire and Whichone to win the Triple Crown and stamp himself as one of the great Thoroughbreds of his time. He was a member of the fi rst crop sired in this country by Sir Gallahad III. The “Fox of Belair,” as Gallant Fox was dubbed, was trained by James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons. His only loss at 3 came in the Travers, in which he ran second to the 100-1 longshot Jim Dandy.

He retired to stud at Claiborne Farm and sired the 1935 Triple Crown winner, Omaha, in his fi rst crop and the 1936 Belmont winner, Granville, in his second. He is the only Triple Crown winner to sire a Triple Crown winner. Gallant Fox died Nov. 13, 1954, and was buried along-side his sire and dam at Claiborne.

Ch. c., 1932, by Gallant Fox—Flambino, by WrackOWNER-BREEDER: Belair Stud (Ky.)TRAINER: James FitzsimmonsJOCKEY: Willie SaundersRACE RECORD: 22 starts ages 2-4, 9 wins, 7 seconds, 2 thirds, $154,755.AT 2: 2nd, Champagne, Junior Champion, Sanford.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Dwyer, Arlington Classic.AT 4: Won Victor Wild S. (GB), Queen’s Plate (GB), 2nd Princess of Wales’s (GB), Ascot Gold Cup (GB).

Omaha was in the fi rst crop sired by the 1930 Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox. Like his sire, Omaha was bred and raced by Belair Stud and trained by “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons. Omaha won the Derby over Roman Soldier and the Preakness a week later over Firethorn. He then lost the Withers but rebounded to win the Belmont.

At 4, owner William Woodward sent him to England in quest of the Ascot Gold Cup. He was defeated by inches by the fi lly Quashed. He started four times in England, winning his fi rst two starts – the Victor Wild Stakes and Queen’s Plate – and fi nishing second in the other two. Shortly after his return to the U.S., the colt suffered a recurrence of an old affl ic-tion, and he was retired to stud.

Omaha was a failure as a sire, and in 1943, Claiborne sent him to a farm in New York. He moved to a farm in Nebraska in 1950. He died in 1959 and was buried at Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in Omaha.

AMERICAN TRIPLE CROWN WINNERSThirteen horses have won the American Triple Crown – composed of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes – which was patterned after the English Triple Crown that dates to 1809. When Sir Barton won the three races in 1919, it was not considered a Triple Crown feat. The three races were not acknowledged as being tied together as the Triple Crown until the 1930s. The Thorough-bred Racing Associations commissioned Cartier to craft a Triple Crown trophy – with three sides representing the three jewels – in 1950, and the trophy retroactively was awarded to the eight previous winners of the three races. In 1973, Secretariat was the fi rst horse to be awarded the trophy after he accomplished the sweep. A new trophy was commissioned for the 2018 Triple Crown and presented to the connections of Justify.

GALLANT FOX1930

OMAHA1935

SIR BARTON1919

NYRA KEENELAND LIBRARY KEENELAND LIBRARY


Ch. c., 1938, by Blenheim II—Dustwhirl, by SweepOWNER-BREEDER: Calumet Farm (Ky.)TRAINER: Ben A. JonesJOCKEY: Eddie ArcaroRACE RECORD: 60 starts ages 2-5, 32 wins, 15 seconds, 9 thirds, $561,161.AT 2: Won Hopeful, Saratoga Special, Breeders’ Futurity, Walden.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, American Derby, Travers, Lawrence Realization, Dwyer, Saranac H.AT 4: Won Jockey Club Gold Cup, Pimlico Special, Massachusetts H., Brooklyn H., Dixie H., Narra-gansett Special, Washington H., etc.

Tough and willful Whirlaway spent the earliest portion of his lengthy career losing races he should have won. But Hall of Famer Ben Jones got the most out of him, as he proved to be high-class and durable. He started 42 times at ages 3 and 4 alone, winning 25 times. Whirlaway was the fi rst of eight Kentucky Derby winners and two Triple Crown winners for owner-breeder Calumet Farm.

In the Kentucky Derby, Jones fashioned him with new blinkers and a new rider, Eddie Arcaro, and after being far back early, he exploded in the stretch to win by eight lengths, setting a track record 2:01 2/5. It would stand as the fastest Derby until Decidedly won the race in 2:00 2/5 in 1962. His margin of victory is still tied for the largest in Derby history. Whirla-way was tardy getting out of the gate in the Preakness, trailing early, but rallied to win by 5 1/2 lengths. In the Belmont, he changed tactics and made a big move after a half-mile, rushing up to open up a seven-length advantage after six furlongs. He won easily by 2 1/2 lengths.

At 4, he displaced Seabiscuit as the sport’s leading earner while winning the Massachusetts Handicap in track-record time. He started at stud at Calumet before being sold for stud duty in France. He died in France on April 6, 1953.

Br. c., 1934, by Man o’ War—Brushup, by SweepOWNER: Glen Riddle FarmBREEDER: Samuel D. Riddle (Ky.)TRAINER: George ConwayJOCKEY: Charles KurtsingerRACE RECORD: 26 starts ages 2-5, 21 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, $273,240.AT 2: Won Eastern Shore Handicap.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Washington H., Chesapeake, Pimlico Special.AT 4: Won Widener H., Jockey Club Gold Cup, Saratoga Cup, Saratoga H., Whitney, etc.

A son of the mighty Man o’ War, War Admiral brought many of his illustrious sire’s characteristics to the racecourse. In fact, he was owned and bred by Samuel D. Riddle, who campaigned Man o’ War.

Usually a bundle of nerves as he entered the track from the paddock, he was possessed of blazing early speed and the ability to carry it over all distances. In the Kentucky Derby, War Admiral went postward as the favorite and led gate to wire to defeat champion 2-year-old Pompoon and win by 1 3/4 lengths. A week later, he was put to a sterner test by that one in the Preakness, holding off Pompoon to win by a head. In the Belmont, War Admiral stumbled at the start, injuring his right foreleg, but he was able to win by three lengths. He went to the sidelines until October. He was undefeated in his 3-year-old season.

War Admiral had a brilliant campaign at 4, winning 9 of 11 starts, but it is sometimes overshadowed by his well-publicized loss to Seabiscuit in the Pimlico Special. Only once did he fi nish unplaced, that in the mud in the Massa-chusetts Handicap.

At stud, War Admiral was a top sire, getting 40 stakes winners, including champions Busher and Blue Peter. He stood at Riddle’s Faraway Farm in Kentucky until Riddle’s death and then relocated to Hamburg. He died in 1959.

Br. c., 1940, by Reigh Count—Quickly, by HasteOWNER-BREEDER: Mrs. John D. Hertz (Ky.)TRAINER: Don CameronJOCKEY: John LongdenRACE RECORD: 21 starts ages 2-3, 16 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, $250,300.AT 2: Won Pimlico Futurity, Champagne, Walden, Wakefield.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Withers, Wood Memorial.

The aptly named Count Fleet was one of the fastest horses of his day. As a 2-year-old, four days before the Futurity at Belmont Park, he was credited with a six-furlong workout on the Belmont straightaway in 1:08.20, signifi cantly faster than the track record, and though he lost the Futurity, he won the one-mile Champagne in track-record time and equaled the track record in the Pimlico Futurity at 1 1/16 miles. He was owned Mrs. John D. Hertz, whose husband had stood his sire, Reigh Count, but bred him to only a few mares every year.

At 3, nothing got close to him. In the Kentucky Derby, he went to the lead and won by an easy three lengths. A week later in the Preakness, he missed the stakes record by two-fi fths of a second in winning by eight lengths. Between the Preakness and the Belmont, he won the Withers in just a fi fth off the stakes record. And in the Belmont, he galloped off to a 25-length victory in stakes-record time of 2:28.20, despite suffering a career-ending injury in the running.

Standing at Hertz’s Stoner Creek Stud in Kentucky, Count Fleet was a very good sire, getting 39 stakes winners and three champions, and was the leading sire in 1951. He sired consecutive Horses of the Year in Counterpoint in 1951 and One Count in 1952, and he sired the 1951 Kentucky Derby winner, Count Turf, and the champion 3-year-old fi lly, Kiss Me Kate. He died Dec. 3, 1973.

WHIRLAWAY1941

WAR ADMIRAL1937

COUNT FLEET1943

NYRA NYRA DRF ARCHIVES


B. c., 1945, by Bull Lea—Hydroplane II, by HyperionOWNER-BREEDER: Calumet Farm (Ky.)TRAINERS: Ben A. Jones and Jimmy JonesJOCKEY: Eddie ArcaroRACE RECORD: 45 starts ages 2-3, 5-6, 32 wins, 10 seconds, 2 thirds, $1,085,760.AT 2: Won Belmont Futurity, Pimlico Futurity, Elementary.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Gold Cup, American Derby, Pimlico Special, Jersey, Flamingo, Stars and Stripes H., Sysonby Mile, Tanforan H., Derby Trial, Chesapeake, Everglades H., Seminole H.AT 5: Won Golden Gate Mile H.AT 6: Won Hollywood Gold Cup, American H., Century H.

Simply put, Citation was one of the best racehorses America ever has produced, and his 3-year-old campaign is unparal-leled in accomplishment and scope. At the conclusion of his sophomore season, he had lost just twice in 29 career starts and he had won at distances from six furlongs to two miles in seven states.

In the Kentucky Derby, he came off the pace to defeat stablemate Coaltown by 3 1/2 lengths. In the Preakness, Citation set the pace and won by 5 1/2 lengths, and in the Belmont, he won by eight lengths over Better Self.

A diagnosis of osselets followed his bril-liant campaign, and his 4-year-old season was lost entirely. When he returned at 5, he had lost a step but still was able to win the Golden Gate Mile in a world-record 1:33.60. He stayed in training at 6, chasing the $1 million earnings milestone, which was realized in his fi nal start, when he won the Hollywood Gold Cup. He was the fi rst horse to reach that mark.

Citation was a poor sire, though he got the champion Silver Spoon and the Preak-ness winner Fabius. He died Aug. 8, 1970.

Ch. c., 1943, by Bold Venture—Igual, by EquipoiseOWNER-BREEDER: King Ranch (Tex.)TRAINER: Max HirschJOCKEY: Warren MehrtensRACE RECORD: 42 starts ages 2-7, 18 wins, 6 seconds, 7 thirds, $675,470.AT 2: Won Flash.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Dwyer, Pimlico Special, Westchester Handicap, Wood Memorial, Experimental H. #1.AT 4: Won Suburban H., Brooklyn H., Butler H., Dixie H., Grey Lag H.AT 6: Won Brooklyn H.

As a foal, Assault stepped on a survey-or’s stake at the place of his birth, King Ranch, which left him with a malformed right front hoof. When he turned out to be a top racehorse, it earned him the nick-name “the Club-Footed Comet.”

Trainer Max Hirsch learned the colt was sound, despite his foot, and Assault won 2 of 9 starts at 2. He blossomed in the spring of his sophomore season, and in the Kentucky Derby, at 8-1, Assault blew past the fi eld in the stretch to win by eight lengths. He went postward in the Preakness a week later as the favorite. Jockey Warren Mehrtens sent him to the lead entering the far turn, and he quickly opened up a large lead. From there, he won by a neck over Lord Boswell. Fans thought 1 1/2 miles would be beyond his scope, so in the Belmont, Lord Boswell was the favorite, but Assault was up to the task, rallying in the last 200 yards to win by three lengths. He set a single-season earnings record of $424,195.

At 4, Assault won 5 of 7 starts and reigned as the sport’s leading earner for a time, though not at season’s end.

When Assault proved sterile, he eventu-ally was put back in training, and though his best was behind him, he did win the 1949 Brooklyn Handicap.

He was euthanized in 1971 after frac-turing a leg.

Ch. c., 1970, by Bold Ruler—Somethingroyal, by PrincequilloOWNER: Meadow StableBREEDER: Meadow Stud (Va.)TRAINER: Lucien LaurinJOCKEY: Ron TurcotteRACE RECORD: 21 starts ages 2-3, 16 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, $1,316,808.AT 2: Won Garden State, Laurel Futurity, Belmont Futurity, Hopeful, Sanford.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Marlboro Cup Invitational H., Canadian Interna-tional Championship, Arlington Invitational, Man o’ War, Gotham, Bay Shore.

An equine hero in his day, Secretariat has achieved even more legendary status with the passage of time. His occasional failures are overshadowed by the magni-tude of his accomplishments, topped off by track records in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Marlboro Cup that stand decades later. His offi cial clocking in the Preakness, tainted by a Teletimer malfunction, was changed in 2012 by the Maryland Racing Commission to acknowledge he had set a track record, remarkably giving him a track record in all three Triple Crown races. His prodi-gious 31-length margin of victory in the Belmont is one of the most remembered Thoroughbred performances in history.

Displaying versatility, he concluded his career with lengthy victories on the turf against some of the best U.S.-based grass horses. The details of his then-record syndication, determined at the outset of his 3-year-old season, called for his retire-ment at the conclusion of 1973.

At stud at Claiborne Farm, Secretariat did not live up to the incredibly high expectations, but he was a good sire, getting Horse of the Year Lady’s Secret and dual classic winner Risen Star, and he was an extremely infl uential brood-mare sire. He died from complications of laminitis Oct. 4, 1989.

CITATION1948

ASSAULT1946

SECRETARIAT1973

DRF ARCHIVES DRF ARCHIVES BOB COGLIANESE/NYRA


Ch. c., 1975, by Exclusive Native—Won’t Tell You, by Crafty AdmiralOWNER-BREEDER: Harbor View Farm (Fla.)TRAINER: Lazaro BarreraJOCKEY: Steve CauthenRACE RECORD: 29 starts ages 2-4, 22 wins, 5 seconds, 1 third, $2,393,818.AT 2: Won Laurel Futurity, Belmont Futurity, Holly-wood Juvenile Championship, Hopeful, Sanford, Youthful.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Hollywood Derby, Santa Anita Derby, San Felipe Handicap, Jim Dandy.AT 4: Won Hollywood Gold Cup, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Santa Anita H., Californian, Charles H. Strub, Woodward.

Defi ned nearly as much by a two-season, 10-race rivalry with Alydar as his Triple Crown sweep, the career of Affi rmed was one of sustained quality. At the end of his 3-year-old season, only one foal from his crop ever had fi nished in front of him – Alydar, on two occasions.

In the Kentucky Derby, Harbor View homebred Affi rmed held off the stretch run of Alydar to win by 1 1/2 lengths, and in the Preakness, the pair battled the length of the stretch, with Affi rmed winning by a neck. In an epic Belmont, Alydar shadowed Affi rmed from the start and took a slight lead inside the furlong grounds, but Affi rmed battled back to win by a head.

Affi rmed was voted Horse of the Year in 1978 and repeated in 1979 when winning six Grade 1 races, including a meeting with the year-younger Spectacular Bid. Only once in 29 starts did Affi rmed ever fi nish worse than third, when his saddle slipped in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

At stud, Affi rmed sired two Canadian Horses of the Year, Peteski and Quiet Resolve, and the Eclipse Award winner Flawlessly. He died Jan. 12, 2001, at Jona-bell Farm in Kentucky.

Dk. b. or br. c., 1974, by Bold Reasoning—My Charmer, by PokerOWNERS: Mickey and Karen Taylor, Dr. Jim and Sally HillBREEDER: Ben S. Castleman (Ky.)TRAINERS: William H. Turner (1976-77), Doug Peterson (1978)JOCKEY: Jean CruguetRACE RECORD: 17 starts ages 2-4, 14 wins, 2 seconds, 0 third, $1,208,726.AT 2: Won Champagne.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Flamingo, Wood Memorial.AT 4: Won Woodward, Marlboro Cup H., Stuyves-ant H.

Questioned for the company he had kept as a 3-year-old and plagued by assorted misfortunes that limited him to just 17 career starts, Seattle Slew never put together a lengthy campaign in any of his three seasons and struggled somewhat for his share of acclaim. Minor injury delayed his 2-year-old debut, but when he reached the races, he won all three of his starts at 2, being named champion, and he swept his way through the Belmont to become, to that point, the only horse to win the Triple Crown undefeated. A debacle in the Swaps at Hollywood Park followed, and his 3-year-old season ended on a sour note.

Early in 1978, he became ill and nearly died, and later missed several months due to a stall accident. That year, he defeated Affi rmed in an epic Marlboro Cup, the fi rst meeting of Triple Crown winners. To many of his harshest critics, his fi nest moment was in gallant defeat in the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Seattle Slew cemented his greatness by becoming one of the most prominent sires of the latter part of the 20th century, siring 113 stakes winners and eight cham-pions, including the classic winners A.P. Indy and Swale. He died May 7, 2002.

B. c., 2012, by Pioneerof the Nile—Littleprincessemma, by Yankee GentlemanOWNER-BREEDER: Zayat Stables (Ky.)TRAINER: Bob BaffertJOCKEY: Victor EspinozaRACE RECORD: 11 starts ages 2-3, 9 wins, 1 second, 0 third, $8,650,300AT 2: Won FrontRunner S., Del Mar Futurity.AT 3: Won Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Haskell Invitational, Arkan-sas Derby, Rebel S.

American Pharoah ended the longest drought in Triple Crown history, 37 years, when he won the Belmont Stakes to complete the sweep.

American Pharoah was champion at 2 but bruised a foot before the Breeders’ Cup and missed the race. That left him behind his contemporaries in preparing for the Triple Crown, and he did not make it back to the races until March in the Rebel, which he won, and followed that with an easy, eight-length victory in the Arkansas Derby.

In the Kentucky Derby, he was put to his stiffest test when he had to come from just off the pace to defeat Firing Line by one length in a stretch-long duel. In the Preakness on a sloppy track, the colt went to the lead and drew off to win by seven lengths. Against seven rivals in the Belmont, he employed similar tactics, setting all the pace before drawing away in the stretch run to win by 5 1/2 lengths.

After ending the drought, American Pharoah returned for a summer campaign to great fanfare, winning the Haskell before fi nishing second, beaten three-quarters of a length by the closing Keen Ice, in the Travers Stakes in Saratoga.

American Pharoah coasted to a wire-to-wire, 6 ½-length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in his career fi nale, his only start against older horses. He was subsequently voted both Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male.

AFFIRMED1978

SEATTLE SLEW1977

AMERICAN PHAROAH2015

NYRA BOB COGLIANESE BARBARA D. LIVINGSTON


Remember when there was all this hand-wringing in American racing that the Triple Crown had become too tough to win?

Remember when some very infl uential people insisted something needed to be done to bring the Triple Crown more into line with the realities of today’s game, which really was just a euphemism to dumb the Triple Crown down and make it easier to win by doing something silly like putting more time between these races?

Seems like a long time ago now, doesn’t it? But it really wasn’t that long ago. Just a handful of years, actually.

Traditionalists countered by stressing that even though there had been a long drought between Triple Crown sweeps, the Triple Crown was still perfectly fi ne as is and pointed to the fact that we had nine Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners alive for a sweep in the Belmont between 1997 and 2014 alone. All we needed was the right horse to come along.

Well, look at how blessed we are now. We have had two of the right horses come along in just the last four years. American Pharoah ended that 37-year Triple Crown drought in 2015, And only three years later, Justify, also trained by Bob Baffert, became only the 13th Triple Crown winner ever.

Oh yeah, Justify also became the fi rst-ever Triple Crown winner to have not raced as a 2-year-old.

I’ll avoid the obvious joke about how I guess we’re now supposed to make the Triple Crown tougher to win. Instead, before I try to convey how amazed I am by Justify, I’ll express my hope that there will now be a 25-year prohibition of talk concerning any change to the structure of the Triple Crown. Two Triple Crown winners in four years should buy us that, at least. I hope.

Now, Justify.As diffi cult as winning the Triple Crown

is, one would think the degree of diffi culty involved would increase by multiples if you’ve started your racing career as late as Feb. 18. But for Justify, the great equalizer (great with a capital “G”) is his enormous talent. He has shiploads of it.

Justify’s talent carried him to his sensa-tional victory in the Kentucky Derby, when

he bounced away from his fi eld despite engaging in a scorching pace that would have done in many a Grade 1 winner. It carried him in the Preakness on a day when he clearly did not run his best race. And it carried him in the Belmont Stakes, enabling him to overcome a sixth start in the narrow window of 111 days, the last three in the most pressure-packed situa-tions found in American racing.

The year is only half over. But the matter of 2018 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old is already a fait accompli. It speaks highly of Justify that he can suck a lot of the remaining suspense out of the season, much like American Pharoah did on Belmont Stakes night 2015.

Greatness also is no longer a question when it comes to Justify. That is not to say every Triple Crown winner is or was a

Mount Olympus-type horse, because there have been a couple of shaky Triple Crown winners. It’s also not to say that Justify has done things on the track never seen before, even if his Derby performance was some-thing else.

Justify has run fast, but not otherworldly fast. He’s beaten some nice horses, but not one like an Alydar, whom Affi rmed had to deal with. And let’s not forget, many were reluctant to attach “great” to Seattle Slew after he swept his Triple Crown in 1977 because he beat such a weak crew that year. It wasn’t until Slew did amazing things as a 4-year-old that his greatness was fully appreciated.

But what Justify has accomplished in the time he has accomplished it makes him completely, thoroughly unique. And in my book, it makes him indisputably great.


Justify is the only horse unraced at 2 to win the Triple Crown, and his accomplish-ments in the fi rst half of 2018 have likely cemented a Horse of the Year title.

Justify’s sweep should end talk of Triple Crown revampMIKE WATCHMAKER

Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association . 701 E Baltimore Pike Suite EKennett Square PA . 19348 . 610-444-1050 . www.pabred.com

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