Five hours away from his bid to be the sport’s 13th Triple Crown champion, Justify continues to look primed for his run at history.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner was again impressive in his final work for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, covering 5 furlongs in 1:01.40 at Churchill Downs.
That isn’t to suggest he’s a shoo-in for victory at Belmont, however, as Justify looked more vulnerable toward the end of each of his runs in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
At Churchill Downs, it was runner-up Good Magic who closed the distance well to make things more competitive at the climax, while Bravazo, who impressed from a wide start in Kentucky, finished strong to take second at Pimlico Race Course.
Bravazo will be back in the field on Saturday and will hope third time’s the charm following wet finishes behind Justify in both their previous outings.
The field of promising outsiders doesn’t end there, though, and the Belmont Stakes Twitter account provided a profile of Vino Rosso, trained by Todd Pletcher and one who’s expected to figure more heavily in the race for the win:
Vino Rosso’s back for another bite at the cherry after finishing ninth at the Kentucky Derby, which also happened to be his Grade 1 debut.
Pletcher has won the Belmont Stakes three times already with Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013) and Tapwrit (2017). He has another two chances this year with Vino Rosso and Noble Indy, each of whom he’s said show traits of his previous BElmont winners.
If it’s an underdog one favours, however, Gronkowski, part-owned by New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, looks to be the best bet.
Acclimation will be key if he’s to have any chance, too, in spite of any good form Gronkowski might have enjoyed in England, with two wins at Newcastle, one win at Kempton and one win at Chelmsford in the past six months.
Justify may not be the value pick for bettors, but there are those in the field who could yield dividends if he fails to complete his Triple Crown collection on Saturday.
Odds to win the 2018 Belmont Stakes:
Justify -125 |
Hofburg +400
Bravazo +700
Vino Rosso +800
Tenfold +1000
Blended Citizen +1400
Gronkowski +2500
Noble Indy +3300
Free Drop Billy +5000
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