BALTIMORE – This is not Bob Baffert’s first rodeo. It’s his fifth. And because he’s been in this situation four times previously, with a colt heading to the Belmont Stakes seeking a Triple Crown sweep after wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, he knows what he must do to have Justify at his best on June 9 at Belmont Park. Baffert on Sunday morning here at Pimlico said Justify would be on the same schedule this year as American Pharoah was in 2015, when American Pharoah did what Silver Charm, Real Quiet, and War Emblem could not – add the Belmont and become a Triple Crown winner. Justify left the Pimlico stakes barn around 8:30 Sunday morning, bound for Churchill Downs, where he will train for the next two-plus weeks and have his final workout before heading to New York a few days before the Belmont. That exact itinerary worked in 2015 with American Pharoah. Baffert is hoping it will work again this year and make Justify the sport’s 13th Triple Crown winner, and the second for Baffert. “He looks bright,” Baffert said just before Justify got on the van headed to the airport, looking quite well for a horse who had had a hard race less than 14 hours earlier. “One thing about him, he doesn’t lose any weight. He got a good blow. But he wasn’t as tired as I thought he would be.” :: Get the Belmont Stakes All-Access package for just $29.95! Justify remained unbeaten with his victory on Saturday in the Preakness, his fifth win in a career that only began on Feb. 18. He is the first horse to win the Derby and Preakness without having started at age 2, and he has won all five of his races in a mere 13 weeks. “For him, what he’s done in five races is pretty incredible,” Baffert said. Justify received a Beyer Speed Figure of 97 for the Preakness, his first mark lower than a 101. “You can’t bring it all the time,” Baffert said. “This will set him up for the next one. There was a little bounce there.” Baffert compared Justify’s Preakness to American Pharoah’s Derby. American Pharoah gutted out a win that day and was much the better for it in the Preakness and Belmont. “He ran a race like American Pharoah’s Derby,” Baffert said, adding that the Belmont should unfold without the pitched early battle Justify encountered in the Derby and Preakness. “The Belmont should be easier on him, the way it sets up,” Baffert said. Baffert was impressed that Justify was able to win the Preakness with what was thrown at him, notably an early challenge from the high-class colt Good Magic, who was second in the Derby. “They challenged him early. Had to make about a five-eighths-of-a-mile run, so he didn’t have that kick at the end,” Baffert said. “This horse is so talented, you feel like if something goes wrong, he can still win.” In the Preakness, Baffert said jockey Mike Smith reported that Justify jumped puddles and tire tracks and was being pushed out by Good Magic, ridden by Jose Ortiz. “The guy was pushing him out. Would have taken him to the 8 path. Kept running into him,” Baffert said. “He jumped a lot of puddles. He’s still a little green. The other horse was leaning on him, race riding. That would have been the right move, but you’re dealing with a superior horse.” Baffert was happy with how Justify handled the atmosphere on Saturday, from the saddling paddock to the starting gate on a foggy afternoon. “He has a beautiful mind. We never got to school him, but he didn’t turn a hair,” Baffert said. “He walked right in that gate, and he broke like a shot.” And after the race, and again this morning, Justify ate everything placed before him. “One thing about him, he is an eater,” Baffert said. Baffert said after getting Justify back to Churchill Downs, he’d “go easy on him the first week.” “Depending on how he responds, then we’ll start doing something with him,” he said. Baffert doesn’t have to worry about fitness with Justify. The tightrope Baffert has to walk over the next three weeks is producing a horse on June 9 who is fresh enough to run yet another top race when making his sixth start in 16 weeks, and over 1 1/2 miles, the longest he’ll ever race. “If he’s a superior horse, he can go that far,” Baffert said. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t handle it.”