JUSTIFY remains on course to win the US Triple Crown after extending his unbeaten run to five in the Preakness Stakes at a wet and foggy Pimlico on Saturday.

The 2/5 favourite had to work very hard under Mike Smith, first to get the better of a speed duel with second favourite Good Magic and then to hold off the closing pack to win the nine and a half furlong race by a neck.

Outsider Bravazo (16/1) came through late for second spot, just in front of 33/1 shot Tenfold and the weakening Good Magic (3/1).

A relieved winning trainer Bob Baffert said: “That was a nailbiter. They put it to us. It was a private match race [with Good Magic] and someboy had to give. I’m so happy we got it done. He’s just a great horse to handle all that pressure and keep on running.”

Justify, a son of Scat Daddy, was Baffert’s fifth Kentucky Derby winner to run in the Preakness and all of them have won at Pimlico. Now the racing world must wait three weeks to see if Justify can emulate the Baffert-trained American Pharoah by completing the Triple Crown in the 12-furlong Belmont Stakes.

READ SEAN CLANCY’S IN-DEPTH PREAKNESS REPORT IN THE IRISH FIELD NEXT WEEKEND