Justify Arrives Back Home at Santa Anita

Hearing sirens at a racetrack is almost always a bad thing, but June 17 at Santa Anita Park they weren't a point of concern. They were cause for celebration.

The sirens from the Arcadia Police Department patrol car ahead of a large, decorated horse trailer announced the arrival of undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify.

The trailer, swathed with decals of Justify and the silks of his owners—China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm—pulled up to Barn 5 on the Santa Anita backside at about 2:45 p.m. PT, opened to let trainer Bob Baffert's stable pony Sunny out first, then walked out the imposing chestnut.

Justify's airborne transport landed at Ontario International Airport at about 1:20 p.m., and had a police escort on Interstate 210, just like Baffert's first Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah , did upon his return in 2015.

"Look at him," Justify's trainer said as the Scat Daddy colt stepped onto the dirt outside the well-manicured Baffert barn. "He looks like he's ready to go."

The hundred or so onlookers—media, horsemen, and anyone else who could slip past security—largely viewed the show through the lenses of their cell phones, as assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes led Justify through Baffert's walking ring.

"Hey, does that cool air feel better?" Baffert asked Barnes, noting the overcast mid-70s temperature in Arcadia, Calif., as opposed to the humid heat back at Churchill Downs, where Justify and Barnes spent the last week after the colt's score in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) June 9.

"Oh my God. Sure does," Barnes answered.

Justify behaved throughout the festivities and even posed for a photo with the police officers who escorted him from the airport.

As for the nuts and bolts of Justify's future training—for a start yet to be determined—Baffert said the colt, who had already begun to gallop at Churchill, would likely maintain that level of training at Santa Anita.

"I have to, because he's pretty wild," Baffert said. "I have to do something with him. For those three weeks (between the grade 1 Preakness Stakes and the Belmont), I saw a big difference in him. The two-week turnaround (between the grade 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the Preakness)—I couldn't train him because of the weather and the bruised heel.

"But now he looks great. We're not going to do anything major with him, but you have to keep him going. You can't take a high-level athlete like that and throw him on the couch for a couple weeks. He likes to get out there and do something."