Horse of the Year

There was never any doubt at all Justify would win Horse of the Year honors.  It would be unprecedented for any Triple Crown winner not to receive it.

It doesn't matter he had only six starts or the motives of his owners in retiring him after the Belmont Stakes.  What matters is the Triple Crown is one of the toughest feats in all sports.  In any other year, Accelerate would have won the award, but this year it belonged to Justify.

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Justify received 191 out of a possible 249 first-place votes for Horse of the Year. Hronis Racing's Acceleratereceived 54 first-place votes to finish second, followed by the filly Monomoy Girl with two votes, and Prince Khalid Abdullah's filly Enable (GB) with one vote. There was one voter abstention.

Justify and Accelerate also won Eclipse Awards in their respective divisions, 3-Year-Old Male and Older Dirt Male. Monomoy Girl was voted Outstanding 3-Year-Old Filly.

Justify becomes the third Horse of the Year to be trained by Baffert, who also trained 2015 Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and the 2001 winner Point Given. Baffert had a second Eclipse Award winner of 2018 when Mary and Gary West's Game Winner was voted Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male.

“I'm so proud of Justify and I'm happy to see he is being rewarded for his unbelievable accomplishments in his run up to the Triple Crown,” Baffert said. “I've had the great fortune to be around some of the most talented horses and what Justify was able to do in such a short amount of time still takes my breath away. He is truly a horse for the ages and deserves his place among racing's elite. I'm grateful to WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Bloodstock for sending this horse to me to train. It has been an honor and privilege and a hell of a lot of fun to be part of his story.”

Justify Retired

In some sad news in thoroughbred racing, 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify has been formally retired from racing.  He had a filling in his ankle, and it simply wasn't responding quickly to treatment.  Trainer Bob Baffert felt he needed at least 60 to 90 days before Justify could run again, and it wasn't guaranteed.

Justify was unbeatened in six starts, by far the most lightly raced of all Triple Crown winners.  It is perhaps a misnomer to call him lightly raced, for he never raced at all at age two and ran some six races in a four-month span, which is a lot of starts in that short a time period.

I would have loved for him to have run in the Breeders' Cup Classic against older horses, but this was not to be.

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Campaigned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, and Starlight Racing, Justify dazzled at first asking on Feb. 18, winning his career debut at Santa Anita and proceeded to accomplish many historical feats en route to racing stardom. He broke the “Curse of Apollo” when he won the Kentucky Derby (G1) by 2 1/2 lengths on May 5, becoming the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Derby without starting as a 2-year-old.

“He is an incredible horse and we are very disappointed he can't run again,” said WinStar Farm's Kenny Troutt. “All things happen for a reason, and we are blessed to have raced him to be the 13th Triple Crown winner in history.”

Obviously, it was a business decision.  Can't risk the millions in stud fees and progeny.

Savor the Replays

So far I can't find the footage of Justify's first race, back in February, but here are the rest of them.  This horse is a monster to win in such a short time frame.

Second race, at Santa Anita.  The sloppier the track, the more this horse likes it:



Santa Anita Derby:



The Triple Crown, courtesy of NBC Sports:



Sports Illustrated has an article up about yesterday's race.

Belmont Stakes 2018 Results: Justification was Justified for Justify (Video Included)

Justify controlled the pace just like American Pharoah in the 2015 Belmont Stakes to win the 150th Belmont Stakes and become the 13th Triple Crown winner.  In other words, he went wire to wire and had it in the bag, winning handily. The winning margin was 1 3/4 lengths, the time was way off Secretariat's record, 2:28.18.

Justify became the second undefeated Triple Crown winner (Seattle Slew is the first), and he is the  mostly lightly raced.  He never raced as a two-year-old.  It is the second Triple Crown for trainer Bob Baffert.

Justify was from the second to the last crop of sire Scat Daddy, who died an untimely death when he had a heart attack in 2015.  His last crop are two-year-olds this year.

At 52, Mike Smith is the oldest jockey ever to win a Triple Crown.  He is nearly a decade older than the previous oldest, Victor Espinoza, who won the series aboard American Pharoah.

Snip:

Justify, winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness last month and a huge favorite Saturday, beat Gronkowski to take the 150th Belmont Stakes. After the win in Elmont, N.Y., Justify became the second Triple Crown winner in four years, following American Pharoah, another Bob Baffert-trained horse.

Hofburg, highly regarded, was third.

It was obvious Justify nearly lost the Preakness three weeks ago because he didn't control the pace. There was no repeat here. Mike Smith had plenty of horse.

The Triple Crown trophy has been completely revamped, and it is huge.

The race from the official video from NBC Sports:

Preakness 2018 Results With Video

Justify is the heavy favorite looking for his fifth win in five starts today.  Like the Kentucky Derby, the track is a sloppy mess.  There are only eight horses in the field.

Results:  In the thick, thick fog,  Justify held off Good Magic in a really exciting race and pulled it off from late challengers Bravazo and Tenfold to win this edition's Preakness.  Good Magic came in fourth.

The time was 1:55.93.

There may be more challengers in the Belmont because Justify had to hold off the late chargers.  He didn't win as easily this time.

NYT:

On Saturday, it was Justify, also trained by Baffert, who defeated Bravazo by two-fifths of a length to win the 143rd Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course to set up a shot at the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes in New York in three weeks. It was Justify’s fifth victory in five tries and his third on a wet track. Tenfold was third; Good Magic was fourth.

From the horse's mouth so to speak, meaning NBC Sports:

Kentucky Derby 2018 Results

Favorite Justify, ridden by 52-year-old Mike Smith, has won the 144th Kentucky Derby, winning easily in the slop.  He is now 4 for 4.

It is the fifth Derby victory for trainer Bob Baffert.  It has been  136 years since a horse has won the Kentucky Derby without having raced at two years of age.

Second was Good Magic, and third was Audible.  The time was 2:04.20.

Justify is sired by Scat Daddy, out of the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic.  You have to go back several generations to find A.P. Indy in the pedigree, which means that Justify is a descendant of Secretariat (through Weekend Surprise) although there are thousands upon thousands of thoroughbreds today who have him in the pedigree.

The race (a better video will be uploaded later):