“THAT takes an American Pharoah talent to do it.”

There he said it. Oh, hell, he’s been saying it since the day he met Justify, first to himself, then to his confidantes, then to the world.

Bob Baffert said it on his way to the post-race press conference after Justify gutted out an improbable, unflappable Preakness Stakes win at Pimlico Race Course on May 19th.

Scampering over a sloppy track, emerging through a shroud of fog that made it look like a Sherlock Holmes denouement, Justify earned the second leg of the Triple Crown with a half-length decision over fast-charging Bravazo, who had a neck on Tenfold, who had a neck on Good Magic. The latter had gone stride-for-stride with Justify throughout the mile, one and a half furlong stakes before succumbing late.

Owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing and Head of Plains Partners and ridden by Mike Smith, Justify, a winner of his first four races by a combined 21½ lengths won his first battle.

“He’s a superior horse,” Baffert said. “It takes a really good horse. We’ve seen horses win the first two but what he’s done in just five starts is incredible,” Baffert said. “American Pharoah, his Derby was like this Preakness. He had to work at it, he came into the Preakness and just showed us what he was.

“Today it was sort of the same, he had to gut it out. But it’s good for these types of horses, that was the first time he had to lay it down and he came through.”

LAY IT DOWN

Breaking two doors to the inside of Justify, Jose Ortiz on Good Magic made sure Justify was going to lay it down in the Preakness.

Good Magic and Justify sparred around the first turn, all the way down the backside and around the second turn.

Emerging from the fog and into the stretch, Justify accelerated away from the Derby runner-up, had a moment of peace and then had to fend off Bravazo, sixth in the Derby, and Tenfold, new to the Triple Crown.

As cool as Dirty Harry with his finger on the trigger, Smith never panicked, measuring a half-length margin like a safecracker, whip waving but not punishing. If Justify wins the Triple Crown, it’s because of Smith’s moxie in the waning furlongs of the Preakness, allowing Justify to have the easiest hardest race of his career.

“I knew someone was going to come flying late, which they did,” Smith said. “At the sixteenth pole I kind of took a peek back and saw where they were and thought we were OK, just wanted to hold him together.”

Smith was more worried about the tire tracks, which Justify had jumped on the first circuit than about late closers.

“Those tracks were coming up again where he jumped the first time,” Smith said. “And I didn’t want him to stick his feet in the ground and think about jumping again so I just sat back on him, held him together and yelled at him to get across the wire.”

For the fifth time in his career and second time in his Triple Crown foray, Justify got across the wire in front. Once again, Justify displayed talent, but this time, he added tenacity.

One to go.