BOB JUSTIFIES THE HYPE
LEGENDARY US trainer Bob Baffert’s record is as eye-catching as his shock of white hair.
American racing had been without a Triple Crown winner for 36 years until American Pharoah completed the set for Baffert in 2015.
And just three years later Baffert has done it again, this time with the extraordinary Justify.
To win the three jewels in the States-side racing crown – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes – is thought of as one of the toughest tasks in US sport. To achieve the feat a horse must win those three championship races run at three different distances in three different states over a five-week period.
Not only did Baffert train Justify to do the job with relative ease, but the burly chestnut earned a special niche in the American equine Hall of Fame by doing so without racing as a two-year-old.
Unbeaten Justify had never set foot on a racetrack in anger until February 18 this year.
To cap the achievenent, the horse was ridden by 52-year-old Mike Smith who became the oldest winning jockey in the history of the Triple Crown races. In the aftermath, Baffert reflected on the difference between the sweet-natured American Pharoah and his latest champion.
“Justify will try to bite your head off,” he said. “He’s just a big, tough horse. He’ll run you out of the stall.”
Twenty four hours earlier the Queen’s colours were carried to a rare win in the States by stayer Call To Mind in the Belmont Gold Cup.
The first prize of £162,000 underlines what a fine bit of placing this was by trainer William Haggas and the Queen’s racing manager John Warren. Her Majesty stayed up late to watch the race live before attending to her Trooping the Colour duties on Saturday morning.