By Steve Sherack
ELMONT, NY – The crowds may not be quite as big as they were a few days ahead of American Pharoah's historic Triple Crown sweep three years ago, but the mood here at Belmont Park is starting to feel awfully similar.
They were all lined up by the clubhouse gap-including Hall of Famers Bob Baffert and Mike Smith and WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden–to watch unbeaten GI Kentucky Derby/GI Preakness S. winner Justify (Scat Daddy)'s first spin over Big Sandy after the break at 8:45 a.m. on a cool and cloudy Thursday morning.
The long-striding chestnut couldn't have made a better first impression galloping for about 1 3/8 miles with extremely good energy with his ears up just awaiting a cue from regular exercise rider Humberto Gomez while under a snug hold. He shipped in from Baffert's Churchill Downs base Wednesday afternoon.
“He went around there like he's been here before,” Baffert said during his morning press briefing in the Belmont Cafe. “He just floated over this track. He couldn't have looked any better today coming around there. He looks like a horse that is really flourishing.”
Justify, a jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' debut winner at Santa Anita just four months ago Feb. 18, will already be making his sixth career start in the Belmont. How is he holding up to the workload?
“He's the kind of horse that thrives on it,” Baffert replied. “He's a big, strong powerful horse. I think he's a throwback-I could've run him in between the Preakness and Belmont like in the old days.”
Baffert concluded, “I want to win it for the horse. I want Justify to be up there with those great horses. I'd like to see his name up there [with the Triple Crown winners]–number 13.”
No fewer than seven of the 10 Belmont S. runners were out for light training before the break, including Preakness second- and third-place finishers Bravazo (Awesome Again) and Tenfold (Curlin); and Florida Derby runner-up Hofburg (Tapit). Free Drop Billy (Union Rags) and Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}) flew in well under the radar while sharing the track with Justify.
There was plenty of other star power in action throughout the morning as well, headed by Kentucky Derby runner-up and last year's champion 2-year-old colt Good Magic (Curlin), 2017-18 GI Kentucky Oaks winners Abel Tasman (Quality Road) (GI Ogden Phipps S.) and Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) (GI Acorn S.); and two-time G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) (GI Runhappy Metropolitan).
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