Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Just Steel
STRENGTHS: The race he ran in the Arkansas Derby two starts ago would put him right in the thick of things in the Preakness. He finished second to Muth – the morning-line favorite Saturday – and in front of Mystik Dan, who returned in his next start to win the Kentucky Derby. The Arkansas Derby was one of four Grade 1 appearances to date by Just Steel, who is appealing as a runner battle-tested at the top level of the game. He also has speed, and from his somewhat outside post might settle into a nice stalking position off Muth, Imagination, and Seize the Grey. Just Steel’s trainer, Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, is a six-time winner of the Preakness. Jockey Joel Rosario, who is set to enter the Hall of Fame, reunites with Just Steel on Saturday, and he’s been aboard for both of his wins – a maiden score at Saratoga and the Ed Brown at Churchill.
WEAKNESSES: Just Steel finished 17th in the Kentucky Derby last out and ended up well behind the two other runners from the classic who return in the Preakness – Mystik Dan and Catching Freedom, who was fourth. Just Steel has yet to win around two turns and has yet to win a graded stakes. He’s also yet to win a race this season, although he’s run second in a series of stakes at 3.
BETTING VALUE: Excellent. He’s one who could go off at 12-1 or higher and he’s been known to rebound from a double-digit defeat with a top performance. He did so in the Arkansas Derby, with a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 95.
SIRE: Justify, winner of the 2018 Triple Crown, has had a stellar start to his stud career, with 28 stakes winners worldwide from his first two crops, through May 7. Those include Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old filly Just F Y I, who was second in the Kentucky Oaks; European champions City of Troy and Opera Singer; and Australian champion Learning to Fly. Justify has inherited the versatility of his own sire, multiple Grade 1 winner Scat Daddy. That late stallion not only sired a Grade 1 winner at 1 1/2 miles on dirt in Justify, he sired the likes of crack turf sprinter Lady Aurelia, a European champion. Justify’s Grade 1 winners last year included everything from a dirt sprinter in Arabian Lion to a turf router in Aspen Grove.
DAM: Irish Lights, who won the Australian 1000 Guineas, is the dam of five winners from as many starters. Those include Omei Sword, a Group 2 winner in Australia at up to six furlongs; and Lipizzaner, a stakes winner in England at up to six furlongs. This is the extended family of champion Timber Country, winner of the 1995 Preakness Stakes after finishing third in the Kentucky Derby, and 1996 Derby third-place finisher Prince of Thieves.
OUTLOOK: Although Justify was a route runner who has sired some of the same, there are many other speed influences in the first generations of Just Steel’s family.