Justify leads Baffert to Kentucky Derby win
For the fifth time in his career, La Cañada Flintridge resident Bob Baffert won horse racing’s biggest race and may have turned in his most historic Kentucky Derby victory, which is saying a lot.
Baffert’s 3-year-old colt Justify, the 3-to-1 favorite, lived up to the hype by winning the 144th edition of the Run for the Roses at a wet and muddy Churchill Downs in Louisville on Saturday afternoon.
Justify, ridden by jockey Mike Smith, held off Good Magic by 2 1/2 lengths, while Audible took third. The victory secured $1.24 million of a guaranteed $2 million purse as Justify becomes the ninth undefeated Derby winner.
As for Baffert, the win moves him out of a three-way tie for second place for most Derby wins with Herbert Thompson and D. Wayne Lukas into the silver spot alone. Baffert now trails only Ben A. Jones, who won six Kentucky Derby titles.
“In this business, you have to hook up with the right people to be successful,” Baffert said in a post race press conference. “If you don’t train for the big outfits, it’s tougher and I really think that this horse came around.
“The first time we worked him there ... I said ‘I think we have something special.’ After his maiden win, I thought, man he’s really really special. In fact, I thought the timer was wrong. I didn’t think he ran that fast.”
With the victory, Justify remains undefeated at 4-0, while picking up his first victory outside of the Santa Anita racetrack.
Outside of just winning, Justify’s effort was historic given Baffert’s colt broke what was a 136-year-old curse.
No horse since Apollo in 1882 had won the Kentucky Derby without having started at the age of 2.
Justify’s maiden victory came Feb. 18 at Santa Anita under jockey Drayden Van Dyke. Shortly after, Smith took over and the duo won the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 7 by three lengths.
The last time Baffert was victorious in Louisville was in 2015 when he and jockey Victor Espinoza began a fateful journey.
That year American Pharoah won the first leg an eventual Triple Crown – breaking a 37-year drought – while the horse claimed racing’s first-ever Grand Slam.
Justify’s next step toward matching American Pharoah will take place on May 19 at the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
The Preakness is the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Baffert’s other Kentucky Derby winners are Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998) and War Emblem (2002).
Twitter: @campadresports
