New Jersey

Triple Crown Winner Justify Dealing With Swelling in Ankle

The colt hasn't had a workout since the Belmont Stakes on June 9

Triple Crown winner Justify has been taken out of training while waiting to see if swelling in his left front ankle subsides.

Trainer Bob Baffert says Justify will be re-evaluated in two weeks. He says the swelling developed recently and it comes and goes.

Baffert told the Daily Racing Form on Wednesday that Justify will ship to Del Mar and be part of his stable based at the track for the summer meet that begins July 18.

Baffert says Justify has been walking daily at Santa Anita and will continue to do so until being re-evaluated.

WinStar Farm, which co-owns Justify, won't decide any future plans for the colt until after he is checked out.

Justify has won all six starts in his brief career that began this year. He has won four straight Grade 1 races, including a sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont to become horse racing's 13th Triple Crown champion.

The colt hasn't had a workout since the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

Baffert says the initial plan following the Belmont was to race Justify in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at New Jersey's Monmouth Park on July 29, but that won't happen now.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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