To say John Gunther hasn’t gotten much sleep lately would be an understatement. You probably wouldn’t either if a horse you bred had just won the Kentucky Derby.
Gunther and his daughter Tanya operate Glenwood Farm in rural Kentucky, the birthplace of Justify, who romped past his competition in the rain and mud at Churchill Downs last Saturday to capture the 144th Run for the Roses.
"It hasn’t really sunk in yet," Gunther said by phone en route from Louisville back to Vancouver earlier this week. "A lot of industry leaders spend a lot of money trying just to get a horse in the Kentucky Derby. With our small operation, we keep around 20 to 30 brood mares. We ended up having two of our home-breds run in the Derby (the other, Vino Rosso, finished ninth). That alone is a major statistic in itself."
Justify, running in just his fourth competitive race, went into the starting gates as a 5/2 favourite. He did not disappoint, finishing two-and-half lengths ahead of his next closest competitors, Good Magic and Audible. Record rainfall on Derby Day at Churchill Downs had many wondering if the track conditions might affect Justify’s performance over the one-and-a-half mile distance. Gunther, though, was not among those concerned.
"Although the track was terrible, it was still a wet fast track and I had a feeling he was just going to fly over that surface," Gunther said. "That horse is so athletic. I knew [jockey] Mike Smith would be able to get him out on top. The moment he took the lead around the first turn, I just felt there was no way anybody else was going to catch him."
Smith, 52, is one of the top money riders in the history of North American thoroughbred racing. His trip aboard Justify was just his second Derby victory, the previous coming in 2005 aboard 50-1 long shot Giacomo. While riding the favourite this year, Smith helped break more than a century-long record, as Justify became the first horse to win the Derby without having a start as a two-year-old since Apollo. That’s a curse Gunther is happy to have seen broken.
"Breaking the Apollo Curse, something that hasn’t happened since 1882, is unbelievable," said Gunther. "That statistic alone will make this horse very valuable in the breeding ship as lots of people will reflect on that."
Breeder John Gunther, whose horse Justify won the 144th Kentucky Derby. (Joey Kenward/Sportsnet)
Next up for Justify will be the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, on May 19 at the Pimlico Track near Baltimore. Led by trainer Bob Baffert, Justify is now trying to become the first horse to win the coveted racing series (which concludes with the Belmont Stakes on June 9) since American Pharaoh in 2015. Baffert also trained that horse. Gunther has little doubt Justify can remain undefeated.
"If he comes out in good shape and is in the starting gate at the Preakness, they won’t be able to beat Justify," Gunther added. "A lot of the horses that were in the Derby won’t want to run against him two weeks later, so they’ll skip the Preakness. He’ll probably be the odds-on favourite, maybe less than even money. When Belmont comes around, I think it will be much the same story and I think we’re going to see another Triple Crown winner."
Gunther said the reaction to Justify’s win from those inside and outside the horse racing world has been overwhelming. Now that a Canadian-connection has helped play a role in a horse winning the Kentucky Derby, he is as proud as ever to represent the Maple Leaf in a quest for the Triple Crown.
"I’ve been getting a lot of calls from friends in Canada, as well as media from across the country. I’m really amazed at the amount of interest winning the Derby has created in Canada alone. As a Canadian breeder, it makes me feel extremely proud at this time."
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