By Christie DeBernardis
As undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Justify (Scat Daddy) came charging down the stretch in front in the GI Belmont S. June 9 with a Triple Crown on the line, his two principal owners were thinking completely different things.
“That straight at Belmont seemed a mile long, but to see our bright silks continuing to lead the field was an experience like nothing else,” said China Horse Club founder and chairman Teo Ah Khing. “The energy of the entire crowd and the understanding we were achieving something truly unique and historic, coupled with the joy of my family, friends, CHC members and our co-owners brought us so much joy. It is a once in a lifetime experience.”
Meanwhile, WinStar Farm's CEO Elliott Walden had a bit different focus.
“I was looking at the race from a 'can he get beat,' 'is he going to get beat angle,'” Walden said. “So, I focused in on Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}) making the move that he did and thought, because he was getting a clean run up the fence, he might be able to get there and challenge Justify. But, when Mike [Smith] was still a couple of lengths clear at the quarter-pole and looked like he hadn't asked [Justify] yet, I started to feel pretty good. It looked like all the horses behind him had made their run at him and flattened out. It felt really good from the eighth pole to the wire. I was starting to think, 'Wow, maybe he can be a Triple Crown winner.'”
That thought became a reality just a few seconds later when Justify crossed the wire 1 3/4 lengths clear of Gronkowski to become the 13th Triple Crown winner and take his record to a perfect six-for-six.
The fact only 13 horses in history have managed to capture the elusive Triple Crown proves it takes a very special animal to complete the feat. Justify showed he was a standout from the start when his connections purchased him for $500,000 at the Keeneland September sale.
“He always had this presence about him and he had tremendous balance,” Walden said. “Justify was a horse that everybody liked. [China Horse Club's] Michael Wallace and
Mick Flanagan really liked him, [SF's] Tom Ryan and Henry Fields liked him, and David [Hanley] and I liked him. He was pretty obvious to us as a group.”
Teo added, “He had great balance, great leverage. He had a good solid frame that just needed some time, but he was so light on his feet, with an ease of movement and extension that carried that frame so effortlessly. From our teams view, he was the best yearling in Book 1.”
Justify flashed his talent in his early training at WinStar and the team originally pegged him as an early type, but those plans were stalled by an injury, which prevented him from racing as a juvenile.
“He pulled a muscle up high and kind of strained a ligament in front of his hock, so he needed 60 days,” Walden said. “That was in April, so May and June he had off and in July he came back. He trained through July and August at the farm and then we sent him to Rodolphe [Brisset] around the middle of September to get experience at Keeneland and then he went out to Bob [Baffert] with the Breeders' Cup horses.”
Justify initially went to Baffert's assistant Mike Marlow at Los Alamitos, where he continued to impress those working with him.
“I went to the Magic Millions sale and stopped at Santa Anita and I said, 'Bob you need to get this horse over here. He is a big, nice horse,'” Walden said. “So, I think, at that point, I'm not going to say I knew he was a Triple Crown winner, but I knew he was a nice horse. We liked him. That was early January.”
Baffert brought Justify to his Santa Anita base shortly after that and when he watched the hulking chestnut breeze, he saw that everyone was right about the colt being a special animal.
“The first time Bob breezed him, he rung Michael Wallace and told him we have a special horse on our hands, and just before his debut, we were told he could be exceptional,” Teo said.
Justify lived up to the hype with a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut, followed by a dazzling allowance win and impressive victory in the GI Santa Anita Derby. The sophomore was sent off as the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby and ran to the money with another eye-catching score over a muddy track.
“The Kentucky Derby victory was an amazing feeling,” Teo said, “It's the biggest race on the American calendar. People dream of winning such a Classic. To see the crowd's reaction to our own Derby winner was a very humbling experience. We were confident, as we knew we had a special horse, but the Derby is so hard to win with such a big field, the weather, etc., so to claim victory was an amazing experience.”
The Derby weather conditions followed Justify to Pimlico, where he was pushed by champion Good Magic (Curlin) every step of the way in the GI Preakness S. and emerged from the fog a narrow winner over a rallying Bravazo (Awesome Again). While many fans began to doubt the seemingly unbeatable colt's ability to get a mile and a half at Belmont after the Preakness, his connections did not.
“I felt like all the talk about the Preakness not being a good race was not true or fair,” Walden said. “From my eye, I saw three things I really liked. One was Mike Smith wrapped up on him the last 150 yards and held something in reserve. Two, Bravazo didn't gallop out in front of him. When Bravazo engaged him in the turn, Justify galloped on. Three, the fact he went head and head with the 2-year-old champion Good Magic for nearly a mile and still held off those horses, to me, was the test of a champion. I thought he was moving forward, not backward.”
Justify proved Walden right and silenced the doubters on a sunny June day over a fast track at Belmont, taking the field wire-to-wire to claim a historic victory, becoming just the second undefeated Triple Crown winner after Seattle Slew.
“It wasn't really until the Belmont, that he really caught up to the rest of his crop as far as maturity, race savvy-ness and experience,” Walden said. “I think he is a horse that belongs in the conversation with horses like Seattle Slew.”
The Triple Crown is the ultimate dream of everyone involved in racing and WinStar and the China Horse Club are no exception. While WinStar is a stalwart in this business, the China Horse Club is relatively new, established just five years ago. Though they have enjoyed great success worldwide, the Triple Crown win had increased meaning.
“A Triple Crown represents the possibilities that CHC offers,” Teo said. “We have always said we want to offer CHC members the opportunity of a lifetime and that we intend to compete at the highest of levels. Justify represents our company, our people and the ability to do great things. His victory was widely celebrated throughout China and has gained so much attention, which will help to grow the sport in a positive way.”
While the WinStar team is also reveling in their Triple Crown win, they continue to put one foot in front of the other.
“The great thing about Mr. Troutt, and everybody here at WinStar, is we get up and go to work the next day,” Walden said. “It is not like we can stand back and rest on our laurels. Everybody is working hard. It's a great accomplishment, but at the end of the day, we are continuing to move forward.”
Immediately after the Belmont, racing fans and analysts alike began to speculate as to whether or not Justify, who is now one of the world's most valuable racehorses, would be retired after his historic achievement. Walden said the owners are looking forward to the popular chestnut's next race as much as everyone else.
“We will give it a couple of weeks before we really talk about [where he will race next], but as long as the horse is healthy, there will be [a next race],” Walden said. “He came out of it in great shape. Bob took some precautionary x-rays to make sure he came through all this fine and everything looked good.”
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