Five days out from his bid to be the sport’s 13th Triple Crown champion, Justify continues to look primed for his run at history.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner was again impressive in his final work for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, covering five furlongs in 1:01.40 at Churchill Downs.
The son of Scat Daddy did so under the watchful eye of trainer Bob Baffert, who was pleased with the effort.
“It was a really nice breeze and exactly what we were looking for,” said Baffert, according to Churchill Downs. “He relaxed nicely and seemed very happy. He was a little fresh earlier in the week so it was good to see him relax nicely.”
Baffert is expected to have two Belmont entries. Restoring Hope, who breezed six furlongs in 1:13 on Monday, is also expected to run. Restoring Hope finished third in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial before finishing 12th on a sloppy track in the Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby day.
“Restoring Hope went really well,” Baffert said. “He’s always been a really good work horse. He’s sort of a one-paced horse. He went a little faster than Justify but I thought overall the work was very good.”
Both Justify and Restoring Hope will leave Louisville for New York on Wednesday. Post time for Saturday’s race at Belmont Park is scheduled for 6:46 p.m.
Mike Smith will ride Justify, who is 5 of 5 in his career. Florent Geroux will ride Restoring Hope.
“(Jockey) Mike (Smith), just like any other rider, has to have the horse underneath him to succeed,” Baffert said. “A good rider’s job is to keep the horse out of trouble and make split-second decisions if he needs to. Really the biggest part of the race is breaking cleanly from the gate. With Pharoah he broke about one length slower than the field. It could have been a bad situation but he got into a good position early. After the gate break, you just have to see how the race plays out.”
Tenfold, who finished third in the Preakness for trainer Steve Asmussen, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.60 on Saturday at Churchill Downs. He’s scheduled to ship to New York on Tuesday.
Free Drop Billy, trained by Dale Romans, worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds Sunday at Churchill. He’s scheduled to be on the same flight for New York with Justify and Restoring Hope on Wednesday morning.
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