Justify becomes 13th Triple Crown

By Jenny Kellner —-

Justify; High Deucey Photos

Gives Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert second Triple Crown win

Elmont, N.Y. With a breathtaking, wire-to-wire tour de force under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, undefeated Justify became racing’s 13th Triple Crown winner on Saturday at Belmont Park, sweeping to a 1 ¾-length victory over Gronkowski to add the 150th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets to his triumphs in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

The victory over Belmont Park’s sweeping 1 ½-mile oval was the sixth straight for Justify, who joined Seattle Slew – also a wire-to-wire Belmont winner in 1977 – as the only undefeated winners of the Triple Crown. All six of the rangy chestnut colt’s wins have come in 2018, beginning with a maiden victory on February 18 at Santa Anita Park and culminating just shy of 16 weeks later in the Belmont.

“This horse ran a tremendous race,” said Smith, who at 52 is the oldest jockey to win the Triple Crown. “He’s so gifted. He’s sent from heaven. He’s just amazing.

“Did you see him standing in the gate?” added Smith, sporting the red-and-gold silks of China Horse Club after having worn the white-and-green colors of WinStar Farm in the Derby and Preakness. “He’s standing so still … I actually thought, ‘He’s not going to break today.’ I mean, he left there like he was going 440 yards in Ruidoso, New Mexico.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who saddled American Pharoah to end a 37-year-old Triple Crown drought in 2015, thus became the second trainer along with “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons to train two Triple Crown winners, with Fitzsimmons having conditioned Gallant Fox (1930) and his son, Omaha (1935).

Other Triple Crown winners include Sir Barton (1919), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948) and Secretariat (1973).

“It’s amazing,” said Baffert, who had Triple Crown near-misses with Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002). “It never gets old. American Pharoah, he’ll always be my first love.

“[This horse] was showing me the same signs [as American Pharoah], he showed me that same brilliance. Superior horse. I mean, he could have won every race on the undercard today. He’s just that kind of horse.”

Smith, who won his third Belmont to go with those in 2010 (Drosselmeyer) and 2013 (Palace Malice), sent Justify straight to the lead from the No. 1 post, which since 1905 has produced 24 winners of the Belmont, the most of any post position.

The big colt took command before the first turn, settling into a comfortable rhythm as stablemate Restoring Hope and the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Bravazo kept him in their sights. Galloping through fractions of 23.37 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, 48.11 for the half, 1:13.21 for three quarters and 1:38.09 for the mile, Justify entered the far turn without having been asked for run, still two lengths clear of his stablemate and closest rival, with Bravazo hanging on in third.

Approaching the quarter pole, with the crowd on its feet and screaming, Gronkowski was hitting his best stride from far back, picking off a half-dozen rivals to gain third even as Vino Rosso was moving into second. Once in the stretch, however, Justify continued to roll along, giving no signs of quitting, and Gronkowski had to settle for second, with second choice Hofburg coming on to edge Vino Rosso by a neck for show.

“He broke a bit slow,” said jockey Jose Ortiz aboard Gronkowski, who was making his American debut. “He’s a horse from England. After that, I didn’t have any choice. I had to drop in and save all the ground. He handled the dirt. I worked him twice and he handled it, so I was optimistic. We got a good trip, it worked out well. He broke a bit slow. I wish he would have broke a little bit better.”

“There was no pace and nobody put any pressure on [Justify] and he kind of walked the dog going around there,” said Bill Mott, Hall of Fame trainer of Hofburg. “They were going slow and [jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.] said he didn’t want to make some crazy move down the backside to go join him, which probably wouldn’t have made any sense. Our horse came running. He ran well. I mean, for not having any pace, he finished up very well.

“Mike [Smith]’s great, obviously, and Justify is probably a great horse,” he added. “I mean, they’re a good combination and they got the job done. We saw another Triple Crown winner. A lot of people are happy about it.”

Justify’s winning time was 2:28.18 for the 1 ½ miles over a track rated fast, unlike his two previous wins, which came over sloppy tracks at Churchill Downs and Pimlico.

In addition to the three Triple Crown races, Justify’s resume includes his maiden win, an optional claiming victory, and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, all with a combined winning margin of 23 ¾ lengths.

Owned in partnership by China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, Starlight Racing and Head of Plains Partners, Justify earned $800,000 for the win and boosted his bankroll to $3,798,000.

Completing the order of finish after Vino Rosso were Tenfold, Bravazo, Free Drop Billy, Restoring Hope, Blended Citizen and Noble Indy.

Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1) Quotes

Chad Brown, runner-up trainer of Gronkowski (No. 6): “I’m really proud of my horse. The horse ran a great race. He had a lot of things against him, and we talked about that all week. It was his first time running on dirt, his first time going a mile and a half and he was coming off the layoff. I’m really proud of the way of the way he ran on dirt with so many things going against him. Then he misses the break, and then there’s a soft pace.

“I was shocked to see him that far back. It was no fault of Jose [Ortiz]. The horse didn’t break well. It was his first time racing in the country here. Even though we warmed the horse up well in the post parade, and we kept the blinkers on him, but he just didn’t break at all. Then to see a decent first quarter but then they backed it down and nobody went with the horse [Justify] and that was extremely disappointing. We can’t help because we were so far back. There were other riders in there that can.

“But hey. The pace might have been a little slow but this horse [Justify] ran in all three [Triple Crown] races and he won the Triple Crown and went the whole mile and a half today. He showed up and earned it.

“My thought turning for home was that he [Gronkowski] had a shot to get him [Justify] if Justify was vulnerable at a mile and a half. Even though the fractions were soft for a horse of his caliber, still he had to go a mile and a half And I thought maybe, because I could see Gronkowski flying, but he just couldn’t get to that horse.

“It’s one of those Triple Crowns where I had two really good horses [also had Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic]. I think in each race I had the second-best horse and that’s the way it went. That’s the end of the story. Justify is a top horse and he won the Triple Crown, and that’s what horse racing is all about. You’ve got to run against everybody and it only takes one good one to beat you. To come so close in the Triple Crown…but we ran into a real buzz saw.

“It’s exciting to think about what could be down the road with this horse [Gronkowski]. The Triple Crown is over. One chapter is over and another one begins We look at this horse as a quality horse for the future. The way he ran today, and yes, we have some things to work on, particularly in getting better position early and stuff like that, but he’s an exciting horse and I had a lot of confidence in this horse that he would handle the dirt. I wasn’t sure that he was fit enough to stay the mile and a half because we only had him for a little over a month, but in his works, he showed me that he can stay on the dirt.

“The previous trainer [Jeremy Noseda], to his credit, he felt this horse could run on the dirt and so did his owner [Phoenix Thoroughbred III] and they were right.

“But it is what it is and I’m really proud of his effort. When he was that far back early I said to myself this is not going to end well. He’s just so far back and there are quality horses in front of him and then I saw the fractions and said how is this horse going to close? For him to close up that much ground off a real easy pace, it was a remarkable race that he ran. But it’s still a loss. He ran great, but we didn’t win.”

Jose Ortiz, runner-up jockey aboard Gronkowski (No. 6): “He broke a bit slow He’s a horse from England. After that, I didn’t have any choice. I had to drop in and save all the ground. He handled the dirt. I worked him twice and he handled it, so I was optimistic. We got a good trip, it worked out well. He broke a bit slow. I wish he would have broke a little bit better.”

Bill Mott, trainer of third-place finisher Hofburg (No. 4): “There was no pace and nobody put any pressure on the horse and he kidn of walked the dog going around there. They were going slow and he said he didn’t want to make some crazy move down the backside to go join him, which probably wouldn’t have made any sense. Our horse came running. He ran well. I mean, for not having any pace, he finished up very well.

“Mike [Smith]’s great, obviously, and Justify is probably a great horse. I mean, they’re a good combination and they got the job done. We saw another Triple Crown winner. A lot of people are happy about it.

“You can’t doubt him [Justify] now, there’s no way. You’ve got to give him credit. He did it right up on the pace, and everybody had an opportunity to take their shot. They didn’t do it today. They let it go too easy.

“I thought at the quarter-pole, our horse was moving and we wanted to be close at the quarter-pole and we did get into position and made a run, but the speed wasn’t coming back. They went too slow.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr., jockey aboard third-place finisher Hofburg (No. 4): “I was right there on the far turn, but slow fractions helped the winner. I expected a little more pace early on. I thought I would catch though on the far turn but he’s a champion and you knew he would run well. I went for it, made my move at the quarter pole but I couldn’t catch him.”

John Velazquez, jockey aboard fourth-place finisher Vino Rosso (No. 8): “I made a premature run to see if I could get there. It wasn’t enough.”

On Mike Smith: “I’ve known him for so long, and for him to get this at this age is incredible. I am really happy for him.”

Luis Saez, jockey aboard Bravazo (No. 3, sixth): “He was running well to the three-eighths pole but then when I started to ask him [for run], he was very tired.”

Dale Romans, trainer of Free Drop Billy (No. 5, seventh): “My horse ran well, no excuses. He just got outrun by these good horses. We’ll regroup and do something later. We’ll figure it out. He needs to try the grass sooner or later.

“It was a monster race. It’s a great honor to be a part of it. The noise from the crowd out front was shaking this building It was incredible. It’s nice to be a part of something special.

“I thought my horse ran his race. I’m proud of him. That was a spectacular performance, what Bob [Baffert] did with this horse. There can’t be anything greater for the sport.”

Kyle Frey, jockey aboard Blended Citizen (No. 10, ninth): “My horse broke really well. I had him in a really good spot. We got to the three-eighths pole and that’s when the dirt started shifting to the right and back. Too much dirt for what he’s used to. I don’t think he was tired, I just think he got discouraged. Another day.

Winning margin: 1 ¾ lengths
Final time (1 1/2 miles): 2:28.18
Fractions: :23.37; :48.11; 1:13.21; 1:38.09; 2:02.90
Full order of finish: 1-6-4-8-7-3-2-5-10-9
Payout on $2 win bet: $3.60