BALTIMORE (AP) Opposing trainers at the Preakness always want to see the Kentucky Derby winner up-close and then set their sights on trying to beat that horse.
This year, they can see Justify. They just dont know if they can beat him.
Theres such a sense of awe about Justify and an aura around the heavy favorite that its clear itll take something significant to beat him. Watching Justify hold off Good Magic in the Derby impressed trainer Chad Brown enough to calm his expectations.
”I was very impressed with (Justify) how well he ran from gate to finish,” Brown said. ”Im confident my horse will run well, but Im also very aware what a tall order this is to try and turn the tables on a horse like him.”
Turning the tables on Justify and cutting short his Triple Crown bid wont be easy. The consensus around Pimlico Race Course is if Justify simply runs his race, hell win the Preakness and head to the Belmont Stakes on June 9 with the chance to give trainer Bob Baffert another Triple Crown victory – his second in four years after American Pharoah captured it in 2015.
Justify will have to regress back to the pack for any of the other seven horses to finish first.
”If he runs his race, if he shows up – I think every trainer, thats all we hope for,” Baffert said. ”I feel good. Right now I feel confident that hes going to show up.”
Only a handful of things could reasonably derail Justify, a 1-2 morning-line favorite who is 4-0 and has won his four starts by a combined 21 lengths. He showed something more by running such an impressive race in the mud at Churchill Downs in the Derby on May 5. It has rained all week in Baltimore, and more on Saturday should make for another sloppy track.
The other concerns are if Justifys bruised heel gets irritated from a couple of days working out in mud and how the surface might complicate the start.
Baffert has been harping all week on the break being the most important part of the race. Even if hes not as worried as he was when the field was 20 horses in the Derby, its the thing hes most nervous about.
”I want him to leave the gate well and after that, what happens, happens,” said Baffert, whos 4-0 with Derby winners in the Preakness. ”We have to worry about something. Its not like Im just sitting there like, `OK weve just got to get around there. We still have to get around there.”
Drawing the same post No. 7 he won the Derby puts Justify in an advantageous spot. He should be able to avoid getting caught up in traffic trouble out of the starting gate. Hes far from D. Wayne Lukas unpredictable Sporting Chance and wont be trapped inside.
”Hes a big horse, and I think Bob would like to see him get in a rhythm,” said Elliott Walden of WinStar Farm, which co-owns Justify. ”Its a little easier to do from the outside. If he gets slammed leaving there as everybody tries to work down to the fence, sometimes you can get sucked back if you break a step slow. So I think hes happy that hes out there.”
Baffert is happy that the bruise on Justifys left hind foot hasnt been a problem for more than a week now and hasnt bothered the colt during his morning workouts at Pimlico since arriving Wednesday. If Justify breaks clean and gets over the 1-3/16 mile race with no discomfort in that heel, even the strongest competitors are likely running for second.
If anything goes wrong, Browns Good Magic and new challenger Quip are best-positioned to take advantage of any misstep by Justify. Good Magic ran pretty much his best and came up 2 lengths short in the Derby.
”Theres still an opportunity here to maybe close the gap on the horse if our horse moves forward and this horse regresses in any way, and thats a lot to ask for a horse in Justify that has moved forward in every one of his starts,” Brown said. ”But you have to be optimistic that you have a situation that you might be able to make up some ground on him.”
Lukas, who is tied with Baffert with six Preakness wins and has Bravazo along with Sporting Chance in this field, has been watching Justify almost every day and cant say enough positive things. But after watching favored horses like Fusaichi Pegasus lose in the 2000 Preakness, Lukas knows from decades in horse racing that Justify isnt unbeatable.
”Its his race to lose,” Lukas said. ”Give him a chance to run – give him a clear shot at it and everything, I definitely think hes going to be very difficult to beat. … If youre going to bet on the fastest horse and the most powerful, you better bet on him.”
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Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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BALTIMORE (AP) Opposing trainers at the Preakness always want to see the Kentucky Derby winner up-close and then set their sights on trying to beat that horse.
This year, they can see Justify. They just dont know if they can beat him.
Theres such a sense of awe about Justify and an aura around the heavy favorite that its clear itll take something significant to beat him. Watching Justify hold off Good Magic in the Derby impressed trainer Chad Brown enough to calm his expectations.
”I was very impressed with (Justify) how well he ran from gate to finish,” Brown said. ”Im confident my horse will run well, but Im also very aware what a tall order this is to try and turn the tables on a horse like him.”
Turning the tables on Justify and cutting short his Triple Crown bid wont be easy. The consensus around Pimlico Race Course is if Justify simply runs his race, hell win the Preakness and head to the Belmont Stakes on June 9 with the chance to give trainer Bob Baffert another Triple Crown victory – his second in four years after American Pharoah captured it in 2015.
Justify will have to regress back to the pack for any of the other seven horses to finish first.
”If he runs his race, if he shows up – I think every trainer, thats all we hope for,” Baffert said. ”I feel good. Right now I feel confident that hes going to show up.”
Only a handful of things could reasonably derail Justify, a 1-2 morning-line favorite who is 4-0 and has won his four starts by a combined 21 lengths. He showed something more by running such an impressive race in the mud at Churchill Downs in the Derby on May 5. It has rained all week in Baltimore, and more on Saturday should make for another sloppy track.
The other concerns are if Justifys bruised heel gets irritated from a couple of days working out in mud and how the surface might complicate the start.
Baffert has been harping all week on the break being the most important part of the race. Even if hes not as worried as he was when the field was 20 horses in the Derby, its the thing hes most nervous about.
”I want him to leave the gate well and after that, what happens, happens,” said Baffert, whos 4-0 with Derby winners in the Preakness. ”We have to worry about something. Its not like Im just sitting there like, `OK weve just got to get around there. We still have to get around there.”
Drawing the same post No. 7 he won the Derby puts Justify in an advantageous spot. He should be able to avoid getting caught up in traffic trouble out of the starting gate. Hes far from D. Wayne Lukas unpredictable Sporting Chance and wont be trapped inside.
”Hes a big horse, and I think Bob would like to see him get in a rhythm,” said Elliott Walden of WinStar Farm, which co-owns Justify. ”Its a little easier to do from the outside. If he gets slammed leaving there as everybody tries to work down to the fence, sometimes you can get sucked back if you break a step slow. So I think hes happy that hes out there.”
Baffert is happy that the bruise on Justifys left hind foot hasnt been a problem for more than a week now and hasnt bothered the colt during his morning workouts at Pimlico since arriving Wednesday. If Justify breaks clean and gets over the 1-3/16 mile race with no discomfort in that heel, even the strongest competitors are likely running for second.
If anything goes wrong, Browns Good Magic and new challenger Quip are best-positioned to take advantage of any misstep by Justify. Good Magic ran pretty much his best and came up 2 lengths short in the Derby.
”Theres still an opportunity here to maybe close the gap on the horse if our horse moves forward and this horse regresses in any way, and thats a lot to ask for a horse in Justify that has moved forward in every one of his starts,” Brown said. ”But you have to be optimistic that you have a situation that you might be able to make up some ground on him.”
Lukas, who is tied with Baffert with six Preakness wins and has Bravazo along with Sporting Chance in this field, has been watching Justify almost every day and cant say enough positive things. But after watching favored horses like Fusaichi Pegasus lose in the 2000 Preakness, Lukas knows from decades in horse racing that Justify isnt unbeatable.
”Its his race to lose,” Lukas said. ”Give him a chance to run – give him a clear shot at it and everything, I definitely think hes going to be very difficult to beat. … If youre going to bet on the fastest horse and the most powerful, you better bet on him.”
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Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno
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