The Preakness Stakes has come and gone and Justify did win, but only by 1/2 length. Had the race been any longer I’m almost sure Bravazo and Tenfold would have overtaken him, they were coming on so strongly. Will Justify have enough gas in the tank to win the Belmont? Who knows? The Preakness was a half a furlong shorter than the Derby at 1 3/16 miles, while the Belmont is a full 2 furlongs longer at 1 ½ miles. American Pharoah won the Preakness by seven lengths on a sloppy track in 1:58.46. Yes, Justify’s time was 3 seconds faster at 1:55.93; however, American Pharoah was so far ahead, his jockey, Victor Espinoza, just allowed him to breeze to the finish line whereas Mike Smith really had to push Justify to get him across the finish line in first place. Will we see Bravazo and Tenfold in the Belmont? Maybe. Will Justify be the next Triple Crown winner? Ziggy doesn’t think he can do it. I asked her: “Why not?” “Mare intuition,” she replied with a snort, walking off to check the feed trough for any crumbs the heifers may have left. Okie and I watched her go. “Mares,” he said. “She may be my buddy, but she can be quite opinionated.” All I could do was sigh in agreement. Oh well. See you June 9th at Belmont.
