Baffert: Justify should move forward in Belmont Stakes 2018

Trainer Bob Baffert, in an interview wit New York-based radio host Mike Francesca, said Monday that when it comes to Justify’s chances in the 2018 Belmont Stakes, “At this stage right now, I’m feeling like we’re in good shape.”

And then the Hall of Famer further tipped his hand.

“If you’re thinking about buying a ticket,” Baffert said on WFAN Sports Radio, “I think it’s safe to say go for it today.”

Baffert told Francesa that Justify has held his weight since Saturday’s Preakness Stakes victory, the second leg of the Triple Crown. To compare, American Pharoah weighed about 1,170 pounds at this point in his career. Justify weighs approximately 1,270.

“He’s recovered much quicker than American Pharoah,” Baffert said.

Still, training is expected to be relatively light heading into the June 9 race. Justify, a son of Scat Daddy campaigned in partnership with WinStar Farm, shipped back to Churchill Downs to follow the blueprint Baffert drew up when successfully conditioning Pharoah for his Triple Crown sweep in 2015, working once or twice before the Belmont.

It seems the further out from the Preakness we get, the more Baffert’s confidence grows.

“My first thought was, ‘Well, he won the race, but Triple Crown?’” Baffert said of the Preakness. “‘I don’t know? I wonder if this horse is finally — all this racing is catching up, and we got to the bottom of this horse.’”

Then he asked jockey Mike Smith, “Is that all we’ve got?”

Baffert didn’t see the essential match race set up between Justify and Good Magic through the opening three quarters of a mile, only that when the field emerged from the fog, his horse had the lead.

“So it made me feel much better,” Baffert said.

With Tenfold flanking Justify — and Smith sitting chilly on his horse — Bravazo nearly passed both, defeated by a diminishing half length in the Pimlico Race Course slop.

Smith told Baffert: “Bob, I was coasting. I didn’t know it was that close (near the wire). I was coasting, and when they came to me, he took off again.”

Through five career starts now, Justify “needed a tough race,” Baffert said, adding that “I really think it will move him forward.”