A look at how Justify and his challengers are coming up to the 2018 Belmont Stakes

 

With two weeks left to go until JUSTIFY puts his Triple Crown hopes to the test in the June 9 Belmont Stakes (G1), it’s time to take stock of how the field is shaping up.

Unbeaten Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) hero Justify continues to send the right signals. Acting as though unfazed by his rapid rise to stardom since a mid-February debut, and two demanding classics on sloppy tracks, the Bob Baffert pupil returned to the track at Churchill Downs Thursday for a routine gallop. His Friday exercise, embedded below, again gave evidence of a happy horse retaining his form.

We can’t be certain if the ferocious Derby pace, followed up two weeks later by a slog with Good Magic at Pimlico, took a toll. But Baffert reported that Justify didn’t lose any weight after the Preakness, and so far, his constitution appears to be standing up remarkably well to the Triple Crown grind. According to Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman, plans call for the Scat Daddy colt to breeze likely once ahead of the Belmont, but Baffert is not nailing himself down to a particular schedule.

Only one other Belmont contender is poised to compete in all three jewels of the Triple Crown, BRAVAZO. The Calumet homebred strikes me as the tough, hardy type that thrives under the tutelage of Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. Sixth in the Kentucky Derby after a botched run in the Louisiana Derby (G2), the son of Awesome Again was finishing fastest of all when a half-length second in the Preakness.