{"id":11854,"date":"2018-07-25T14:59:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T20:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/?p=11854"},"modified":"2018-07-25T14:59:52","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T20:59:52","slug":"11854-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/11854-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Triple Crown Winner Justify Retired From Racing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Press Release: <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Justify, undefeated winner of the 2018 Triple Crown, has been retired from racing, it was announced today.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustify had some filling in his ankle, and he is just not responding quick enough for a fall campaign,\u201d said trainer Bob Baffert. \u201cWe all wanted to see Justify run again, but ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure he is perfect. Without 60-90 days, I can’t be definite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campaigned by\u00a0WinStar Farm<\/a>, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, and Starlight Racing, Justify dazzled at first asking on\u00a0Feb. 18<\/span>, winning his career debut at Santa Anita and\u00a0proceeded to accomplish many historical feats en route to racing stardom. He broke the \u201cCurse of Apollo\u201d when he won the Kentucky Derby (G1) by 2 1\/2 lengths on\u00a0May 5<\/span>, becoming the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Derby without starting as a 2-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is an incredible horse and we are very disappointed he can’t run again,\u201d said WinStar Farm’s Kenny Troutt. \u201cAll things happen for a reason, and we are blessed to have raced him to be the 13th Triple Crown winner in history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he won the Preakness, I allowed myself to start dreaming about the Triple Crown,\u201d said Troutt. \u201cWhen we look back on this, we have been a part of an undefeated Triple Crown Champion, and hopefully a Horse of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justify went to New York in pursuit of history in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Sent to the lead by his Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, Justify never looked back, winning the Belmont by 1 \u00be lengths, becoming the first undefeated Triple Crown winner since Seattle Slew.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike everyone else, I am disappointed he won’t run again, but I am thankful he came into my life,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThere was never a time when I rode him that I felt like I was going to get beat. There was no horse who could run with him without sacrificing themselves, and there was no horse who could come get him. He truly is a gift from God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justify provided racing international exposure through the Triple Crown, winning the Belmont Stakes in China Horse Club’s red and yellow colors after taking the Derby and Preakness in WinStar’s silks.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo win the Triple Crown is an amazing accomplishment,\u201d said China Horse Club’s Teo Ah Khing. \u201cThe history of the Triple Crown and the difficulty of winning the three legs is not something I take lightly. It has been a great ride for all of us, and I have complete confidence Bob is doing the right thing by Justify.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justify will return to WinStar Farm early next month. He won all six of his career starts, amassing earnings of $3,798,000. In addition to his Classic wins, Justify also won the Santa Anita Derby (G1). Bred in Kentucky by John Gunther, the son of Scat Daddy\u2014Stage Magic, by\u00a0Ghostzapper<\/a>\u00a0was purchased by China Horse Club and Maverick Racing for $500,000 out of the Glennwood Farm consignment at the 2016\u00a0Keeneland<\/a>\u00a0September sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing is bad for another start in 2018, and therefore, we have to retire him,\u201d said WinStar Farm’s Elliott Walden. \u201cLike American Pharoah, we can’t take the risk of running Justify as a four-year-old. We all wanted him to finish his career in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), but it was not meant to be. As has been reported, there is a possible sale to Coolmore in place, but that won’t be finalized until a later date. We are excited to share him with our fans starting the middle of August after he gets acclimated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cFirst Look\u201d will be offered to WinStar StableMates members on Aug. 10th<\/sup>\u00a0and 11th<\/sup>\u00a0and can be scheduled through\u00a0https:\/\/stablemates2.winstarfarm.com\/<\/a>. \u00a0Complete tour schedule available at\u00a0https:\/\/visithorsecountry.com\/winstarfarm\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Justify will also parade at Del Mar on\u00a0Saturday, July 28<\/span>,\u00a0before traveling to WinStar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parade at Del Mar will be a great opportunity for the fans in the San Diego area to come out and see him,\u201d said Baffert.<\/p>\n

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association released the following statement in response to the news:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJustify’s extraordinary racing career \u2013 from maiden to Triple Crown winner in less than four months \u2013 was as brilliant as any our sport has seen. We can’t wait to have his first runners hit the track in 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Alex Waldrop, President and CEO, National Thoroughbred Racing Association<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"Press Release: Justify, undefeated winner of the 2018 Triple Crown, has been retired from racing, it was announced today.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustify had some filling in his ankle, and he is just not responding quick enough for a fall campaign,\u201d said trainer Bob Baffert. \u201cWe all wanted to see Justify run again, but ultimately it is my responsibility to make sure he is perfect. Without 60-90 days, I can’t be definite.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-whats-happening","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11854\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoroughbredpeople.com\/blogUS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}