Justify to face strong prospective field in Belmont Stakes 2018
As Justify headed to the gate the Kentucky Derby favorite earlier this month, talk was of how the field was its strongest in years. Well, ditto for the 2018 Belmont Stakes.
Two runners that were closing on the dual classic winner Saturday in the Preakness Stakes, runner-up Bravazo and third-place Tenfold, are both expected to give Justify a rematch June 9 at Belmont Park.
"You never know, but I think he’ll bounce back pretty good," Bravazo trainer D. Wayne Lukas said. "We’ve got three weeks. I’m pretty confident he’ll be OK.”
"He’s a top-class horse who is getting better," said Steve Asmussen, who trains Tenfold. "We were three-quarters of a length away from where we want to be. Let’s figure out how to get it."
Each of those three will be based at Churchill Downs between the second and third legs of the Triple Crown series. They'll be joined by what was already a deep prospective list of contenders for the Belmont.
Hofburg (seventh), Vino Rosso (ninth) and Free Drop Billy (16th) all were defeated by Justify in the Kentucky Derby but are expected to re-appear in the 1 1/2-mile "Test of Champion" in New York. Also probable is Blended Citizen, who just missed the Derby on points but won last weekend's local prep for the Belmont, the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes.
So that gives us seven contenders already. From there, a number of horses are termed possible, and we will update their status in the coming days via Horse Racing Nation's Stakes Tracker.
• Audible, My Boy Jack and Solomini have each been discussed as potential Belmont runners. But each of them share a connection to Justify, complicating the decision. Consider Solomini, who like Justify is trained by Bob Baffert, least likely to enter. Baffert said last week that Solomini "needs to win a race," indicating class relief is in sight.
• Trainer Chad Brown has said he won't field Good Magic in the Belmont going 12 furlongs. But he recently acquired synthetic stakes winner Gronkowski from the Phoenix Thoroughbreds ownership group and will determine whether the colt is worthy of entering.
• Owner Ron Paolucci's Loooch Racing rarely dodges an opportunity to run on the big stage. Going back to April, he discussed the Belmont as a potential spot for Machismo, who was last seen running 12th in Keeneland's Blue Grass and ninth in Oaklawn's Arkansas Derby in consecutive weeks.