“I have a lot of confidence in my horse,” celebrity horse racing trainer Michael McCarthy refused to give up on Journalism even after the Kentucky Derby heartbreak. Despite being the favorite to win the iconic race earlier this year, the son of Curlin lost to Sovereignty in May. But McCarthy’s confidence in the colt remained unwavering. And now, it has paid off, and Journalism’s owners can hardly keep a straight face.

Just hours ago, the 3-year-old horse earned yet another Grade 1 victory as he won the $1 million Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. With a burst of speed in the final stretches, Journalism picked up a major half-length victory over Gosger and Goal Oriented to win the race on Saturday and prove that the Kentucky Derby defeat didn’t define his worth. Naturally, the 150th Preakness Stakes winner’s camp was on Cloud 9.

In a post on X from July 19 by FanDuel Racing, Aaron Wellman, one of the co-owners of Journalism, shared their emotional response following the Haskell win. The reporter notes how Wellman was seen teary-eyed, and asks the race horse owner how he felt about the race. “He’s just a champion horse,” Wellman didn’t beat around the bush to laud his poster horse.

Referring to the win at Pimlico and the two second-place finishes at the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, Aaron went on, “To do what he’s done this year is remarkable. He found a gear that only special horses have.” An emotional Wellman was struggling to hold back his tears after Journalism’s incredible gust of speed was on full display at Saturday’s NYRA Bets race. “He deserves it,” the owner couldn’t stop gushing how the horse’s performance warrants all the cheers and admiration coming to him.

McCarthy, too, was over the moon. “He’s a different animal. I was concerned since he was running evenly through the lane for a bit, but he showed some determination,” the trainer said about Journalism pulled off a scintillating to silence the haters. However, his concern wasn’t misplaced. The son of Curlin started the weekend race slow, and was the second last, while Kentucky Outlaw led the pack.

Around the first turn, Journalism started catching up, while Gosger and Bob Baffert-trained Goal Oriented battled it out for the lead on the turf. With just one furlong to go, McCarthy’s horse started to quicken up and overtook both the others to win the race in a photo finish. “Gosger is a very good horse in his own right. It took a fantastic effort to get by him. Hats off to him,” Michael still had to laud the competition.

With this victory, Journalism once again proved a couple of bad races aren’t really something to assess him by.

Journalism finally putting an to the doubts

Journalism reached Manmouth Park four days ago after a long and arduous train ride, and immediately started getting acquainted with the surroundings. However, the burden of expectations hung heavy on his shoulder. After all, the memories of his close defeat to Sovereignty in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes loomed overhead.

The debate on whether the Triple Crown races were scheduled too close by has remained a sordid topic of discussion among fans. That was ignited once again when Sovereignty pulled out of the Preakness Stakes, and came back thunderously to win the third jewel of this year’s Triple Crown. Naturally, with McCarthy making it clear that Journalism would race at every opportunity that came his way, it became crucial to win the Haskell Stakes in order to prove beyond doubt that the horse was up for the hectic race calendar.

With the latest victory, both McCarthy, and jockey Umberto Rispoli can once again breath a sigh of relief. Not only did he manage to win the race on Saturday, but Journalism even kept Bob Baffert’s horse at bay, which, going by the standards, is a sure sign of a horse’s greatness these days. Do you think the horse can keep up the momentum and show up in the next race he runs? Tell us!