Justify nears Belmont 2018 breeze; ‘We don’t train scared’

Bob Baffert is 65 years old, a Hall of Famer, and the only active trainer to win a Triple Crown. Yet, he’s still learning. From the best, too.

“Good horses will really teach you a lot,” Baffert said Monday morning at Churchill Downs, where Justify continued training while looking to become the barn’s second Triple Crown winner following American Pharoah in 2015.

“Pharoah — I learned a lot from Pharoah — what he could handle, what he couldn’t handle. We just bring that experience with us.”

With Justify, it’s a case of how “the hits keep coming” — Baffert’s words — when it comes to classic division contenders. American Pharoah preceded Arrogate, who gave way to West Coast, and now there’s “this guy” at 5-for-5 and on the brink of history.

“We just pinch ourselves. Is this really, truly happening?” Baffert asked Monday. “But I think I’m at a stage in my life now that I was ready for this. If I’d had these horses 25 years ago when I first got in, I probably would have been second guessing myself.”

The former quarter horse trainer has certainly made good for himself, though the pressure of training a Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner doesn’t seem to fade. Baffert admitted he has a long couple of weeks ahead before the 2018 Belmont Stakes on June 9.

Until then, he’s busy plotting Justify’s training schedule, managing his conditioning in Kentucky while commuting from California, where most of the barn’s charges reside.

“We’re basically in the playoffs twice a month almost,” Baffert said, with last weekend a perfect example. Baffert-trained Dr. Dorr ran second in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita before, on Sunday, Marley’s Freedom won the Desert Stormer (G3) and the barn had Mubtaahij place in the Lone Star Park Handicap (G3) in Texas.

“I was talking to Bill Belichick — you guys have your playoffs and your season,” Baffert added, having met the New England Patriots coach at the Preakness Stakes. “Our season just goes and goes and goes.”

Liken the Triple Crown to a championship game.

Baffert said Justify could breeze Tuesday — his first work since the May 19 Preakness win — with one more workout before shipping from Churchill Downs to Belmont Park.

“We’re still training. We don’t train scared,” he said. “He has to go a mile and a half, and I want to make sure that when I throw Mike Smith on his back, he has a full tank of gas and his horse is ready.”

Justify has run all five of his races since debuting a 9 1/2-length winner back on Feb. 18. Baffert isn’t fretting the congested schedule given Justify didn’t ship for a race until the Kentucky Derby, whereas he flew American Pharoah out for his final Triple Crown prep, the Arkansas Derby.

The Hall of Famer will keep right on with his training techniques.

“You have to give them every opportunity,” Baffert said. “When they go out there, they’re going to run hard. Fitness is so key to me. I want to make sure he’s fit, so they don’t get tired when they get into the stretch. If they get in a battle, I want him to hit another gear.”

In 1997, Silver Charm ran second by 3/4 of a length in the Belmont. In 1998, Real Quiet was beaten by a nose. And in 2002, War Emblem stumbled badly leaving the gate.

Following American Pharoah — the horse that taught Baffert how to win the elusive Triple Crown — Justify’s 1 1/2-mile test awaits.

“They either can get it, or they can’t get it,” Baffert said. “You can’t train a mile and a half into them. I’ve trained him like I trained my other horses that went up there. They all ran well. They all fired.”