He has heart, which you can’t see or measure. Some horses just show up race after race after race and run their guts out, no excuses, and he is one of them.
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SS won on the year I was born and Justify won it on my birthday! I was able to attend the Belmont when American Pharoah won and was next to the finish line. Got a beautiful photo of him too.
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I’m on pins and needles waiting to hear “what’s next” for Justify. I have a $100 bet going with my husband that they take him to Winstar for R&R, then he never starts another race… hope I’m wrong. :winkgrin:
So Baffert, Walden, et al. were pretty non-committal on his future, but they do want to race him more:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/h…611-story.html
Tentative plan from the article: leave for Churchill Downs tomorrow, hang out there for at least a week, then go back to Cali…
Baffert brought out American Pharoah for the public to see on Stephen Foster Day. I really hope they do that again.
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Future for Justify will be interesting…
Maybe a break but maybe not. So far we know he can put together races without needing a layoff. Justify sure didn’t look to me like he needed a break after the race yesterday 
Keep racing, and the associated risk, or retire now; tough call If he were mine, I’d target one or two more races this summer then the Classic and be done… same as AP.
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I think the situation is different than with American Pharoah only because there are so many hands in the pot. There’s not only a lot of money on the line, but 4 different ownership groups to contend with… as opposed to a single egomaniac owner (god love Zayat for sharing Pharoah with us, he was so incredibly generous, but there’s no denying he loves the attention).
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I think what truly impressed me about Justify throughout this entire TC campaign was just how RELAXED he was. I mean, what he was able to accomplish is truly unprecedented, and he took it All in without ever seeming phased by any of it.
Also, kudos to Mike Smith for a beautiful ride. When they reached the turn for home and all the other jocks started going to work and Mike didn’t lift a finger on Justify, I got chills. That is when I began to think Justify had it in the bag.
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Sounds like the plan going forward for Justify is Haskel, Travers and Classic. Probably call it a career after that.
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Where did you see this as all the places I’ve checked have said that Justify’s next races won’t be decided for a week or so… ?
Those are the most logical spots for him.
I would agree but sounded like something had actually been confirmed which I had not seen…
I’ve watched the race several times and I still see what I did the first time - Mike keeps his whip moving and he does hit Justify with it several times. I think it was a beautiful ride and a great race, but I’m not seeing a totally effortless run.
This isn’t said to take away from the horse or rider, but work was done to win, it wasn’t a glide.
Did you really see MS contacting Justify’s body with the whip or just fanning the whip? I saw a few contacts but most were just MS fanning the whip at Justify… IMO, big difference and yes, fanning the whip can look like contact but it really isn’t.
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I didn’t see anything but fanning either and I have watched the NBC broadcast version several times.
I saw what looked like contact two or three times. Didn’t look like it was hard or anything, and it was done within the rhythm of the fanning.
There are three in close rhythm after they straightened for home, then a fourth (less obvious) quite close to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZDbn9P6NqU
Man it’s fun to watch Gronkowski come on like gangbusters.
There is a lot of political discussion going around right now fueld by Restoring Hope’s owner regarding Goroux’s ride and Repole’s horse’s and how Castellano rode. Castellano reportedly wont be getting any more rides from him.
I think its a bunch of sore losers running their mouths. We all knew when Restoring Hope was entered; it wasn’t because Baffert thought he had a chance. It appears Gary West wasn’t fed the same line of info from Baffert has he would’ve liked but he’s been in this business long enough to know better. Would these sore losers still be whining if one of them put a rabbit in the race to tire out Justify to their advantage for another runner they had? I think not.
They are saying Restoring Hope was used as a blocker in the race. I see none of it. Yes, Restoring hope was sent up front and then ran really wide in the turn, crooked, before coming back in just off Justify’s pace . Not one of them slipped up and pressured Justify. Goroux said RH ran off with him, maybe that’s why he went so far wide in the turn.They all had an opportunity to do so and no one went for it. They all knew that if Justify got the lead; he would control the race and despite running a quick opening 1/4; none of them could hang with Justify. They all emptied their gas tank at the 1 mile. The only one’s to show up on race-day were Justify, Gronkowski (holy hell that last 1/4 was insane!!), Hofburg, and Vino Rosso.
I don’t see how Restoring Hope had any effect on the race results. Justify got the lead and controlled it the entire way with no one pressuring him to do more. Restoring Hope faded badly despite putting on some pressure, but finished 8/10. Noble Indy needs a break and Blended Citizen does too if you ask me. Vino Rosso never made much of an effort up to the first turn and settled in far behind. Repole needs to shut his mouth about Noble Indy; the horse never stood a chance and finished dead last.
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From BH this afternoon…
Baffert considered breezing the Scat Daddy colt this week at Santa Anita Park, but a variety of factors changed the trainer’s mind, and Justify did not go to the track for training July 5. A future race target has not been disclosed by Justify’s connections.
I’m listening to the American Pharaoh book and there are many interesting tidbits offered up. For example, Lukas trained Thunder Gulch who won both the Derby and the Belmont. Guess who won the Preakness that year? Timber Country - trained by Lukas! He blew his own TC attempt.
