Justify has taken the second jewel in his quest for the Triple Crown. Running on a muddy track and fog so thick that at times the entire field disappeared from view. Breaking sharply, Justify ran nose to nose with Good Magic, pulling ahead of the rest of the field. When Good Magic faded in the stretch, he had to dig in and hold off challenges from Bravazo and Tenfold, who came on strong.

In the end, Justify won by a half a length. He showed that he has guts, but the real test will come in three weeks when he heads for Belmont and “the big Sandy”.  Will he have the speed and endurance to hold off challengers over a mile and a half? It’s hard to say whether he was really pushed today or whether Mike Smith just didn’t see the horses coming out of the fog.

We’ll know in three weeks how much depth he has.