ELMONT, N.Y. – A lot was thrown at Justify over the past four months, but he handled it all in unprecedented fashion, and on Sunday, trainer Bob Baffert said Justify had emerged from his Triple Crown-clinching victory in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday in good condition and was “ready to go.” Justify, though, has earned a break. He was scheduled to fly to Churchill Downs on Monday and spend at least a week there before returning to California to begin training anew for a late-summer and fall campaign. There likely won’t be too many races left in his career before he goes to stud, but he is scheduled to race again. Justify is going back to Kentucky because he has been based there since just before the Kentucky Derby, with trips to the Preakness and Belmont following training at Churchill Downs. It also is expected that Justify will parade Saturday night at Churchill Downs when the track honors the Derby winner, similar to what happened with American Pharoah three years ago after his Triple Crown sweep. The Stephen Foster Handicap is run that night and will be televised by NBCSN. “He looks pretty bright,” Baffert said at Belmont Park’s Barn 1 after getting a look at Justify. “He ate everything, like he usually does. He’s an unbelievable horse. I’m so proud of him. We thought he was that kind of horse, but he had to prove it. Opinions die. Facts live forever.” The facts are that Justify became the 13th Triple Crown winner, the second this decade, the second to do so while still unbeaten, but the first to do so without having made a start at age 2. And he went from an unstarted maiden to a Triple Crown winner in less than four months, an unprecedented feat. “The longest, quickest journey ever, 111 days with six races. And he did it,” Baffert said. “After his first out, he showed such brilliance, I thought, ‘Maybe there’s a chance,’ ” Baffert said of putting Justify on the fast track. “You need a horse who’s really, really special.” What has served Justify well is his strong constitution along with a sensible demeanor. He showed no signs of fatigue through the grind of the Triple Crown, and he marched into the paddock like it was the 100th time he’d been there instead of the first. “He walked up there like he was King Kong,” Bafffert said. “He’s intelligent. He’s a smart, smart horse. He knows when to turn it on.” Baffert said that as with American Pharoah, the notoriously tough New York crowd was welcoming. “No heckling,” he said. “Everybody came to see that horse run. They came to see a real stud.” Baffert and an entourage of about 30 had a post-race meal at the popular nearby restaurant King Umberto’s, where special pizzas were made for his party spelling out “Justify” with pepperoni slices. When Baffert walked through the main dining room at the end of the evening, he was greeted with a rousing cheer and stopped at several tables to chat. Baffert on Saturday became the winningest trainer in Triple Crown history, with 15 victories in those races – five in the Derby, a record-tying seven in the Preakness, and three in the Belmont. He is the second trainer to win the Triple Crown twice, following Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, who trained Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935. What American Pharoah and Justify have in common, Baffert said, is that “not only are they brilliant and fast, but they’re durable.” Considering what Justify was asked to do over the past 16 weeks, he needed to be all that, and he proved up to the task.