Justify 'a Pro' in First Morning at Churchill Downs

The big chestnut colt was thoroughly unfazed. He didn't flinch at the pack of onlookers that tracked his every stride back to Barn 33, and he didn't so much as blink when a throng several layers deep surrounded him to snap photos during his post-gallop bath.

Like everything else in the brief career of grade 1 winner Justify, his first morning at the site of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was handled with beyond-his-experience poise.

The Bob Baffert trainee inspired quite the scene at Churchill Downs May 1 as he took to the track for the first time after arriving in Louisville one day earlier. He had an easy gallop his initial morning beneath the Twin Spires as he attempts to debunk one of racing's longest running trends May 5, by becoming the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced as a 2-year-old.

"I think he looked great," Baffert said of the Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner. "The track is real soft and he bounced around there pretty well, happy. It was a good first day and that's what we're all looking for."

Since breaking his maiden at first asking Feb. 18 at Santa Anita Park, Justify has become the phenom of what is widely considered one of the deepest sophomore classes in recent times. After notching a 6 1/2-length win allowance win March 11 while barely taking a hard breath, the Scat Daddy colt legitimized his hype when he put multiple grade 1 winner Bolt d'Oro away with a three-length victory in the April 7 Santa Anita Derby. He will run in the Kentucky Derby for China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm.

"All the ingredients are there, now we just need some racing luck," Baffert said. "We know we have a superior racehorse. He has a good mind, he doesn't get excited. He went out there today and acted like a pro."

Other Kentucky Derby hopefuls making their first appearance on the Churchill track Tuesday included Justify's stablemate Solomini, Baffert-trained Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) hopeful Rayya, multiple graded stakes winner Enticed, who galloped about 1 1/2-miles with trainer Kiaran McLaughlin looking on, Bolt d'Oro, Instilled Regard, and Firenze Fire.