It's like once American Pharoah broke through, the Belmont aura/mystique as a Triple Crown graveyard was shattered.
Baffert lost 3 Triple Crowns in 6 years at Belmont- now he's got 2!
I enjoyed reading
Baffert's comments recently about his Triple Crown failures.
Silver Charm did run his heart out as the trainer said and 1997 was one of the deepest years for 3-year-olds maybe going back to the late 1970s.
War Emblem was called "light" which was an interesting term but that was a race in which he was doomed at the break. I recall during that T.C. year that the horse had a vicious reputation where he liked to bite things including horses and people.
Real Quiet almost won the Triple Crown but really wasn't an overpowering horse in the likeness of some of the recent greats. Though he lost the Derby and not the Belmont,
Point Given may have been better than those mentioned.
Justify did something not accomplished since 1882 when he won the Kentucky Derby and that is win the event as an unraced 2-year-old. I remember his first race but had no idea of what was to occur 16 weeks later. To be 6-for-6 in that time in phenomenal. No small achievement. He may not have hit his peak yet.
Gun Runner retired as a sensation and performed better as he aged. Only time will tell if
Justify will finish a glorious career unbeaten or not. As I said about
American Pharoah, let's enjoy the moment. It may be a year or five or three decades before we see another Triple Crown. This is the hardest event to win in sport, or at least in a category of a few.