A speedy chestnut thoroughbred that's contending for the biggest prize in North American horse racing was bred by a Langley, B.C. man who says he always knew the colt was special.

Justify bounded through the fog and rain to win the Preakness Stakes on Saturday just weeks after he blew past the competition at the Kentucky Derby. If he crosses the finish line first at the Belmont Stakes on June 9, he'll be the lucky 13th horse ever to win the U.S. Triple Crown.

"From his first start you could see that he was a very, very impressive colt," said Langley breeder John Gunther. "It'll be the thrill of a lifetime if he wins it."

Gunther's daughter was the one who had the idea to breed the late racehorse Scat Daddy with their mare Stage Magic. She picked up on Scat Daddy's prowess early, and paid $35,000 for him to stand stud instead of his peak price of $100,000 before he died in 2015.

Justify was born on the family's farm in Kentucky and grew up in the same paddock as Vino Rosso, another colt that's performing well this season.

It took careful feeding by staff on Gunther's ranch to rear Justify to be an impressive colt who was sold as a yearling to begin his racing career.

"It's so much more rewarding to have a homebred turn out successful than just buying something," Gunther said. "It's something you've created yourself. It's like a work of art."

Gunther knew Justify could go far when he saw his first race. When the three-year-old won by several lengths on a sloppy track at the Santa Anita Derby, Gunther predicted he could go on to win the Triple Crown.

Others from the horse racing community in the Lower Mainland will certainly be cheering Justify on from the Derby Bar and Grill in Langley as he prepares for the third race for the title.

Bar owner Drew Forster, a friend of Gunther's, said it's clear there's something special about Justify.

"You can just tell, like a Connor McDavid or a Crosby, they stand out," he said.

It's Justify's impressive size, Forster said, as well as his "fighter spirit" that's got him convinced Justify has what it takes.

"You can tell that he pins his ears and he wants to be in front the whole way," he said.

The horse marks a huge success for the local industry in the Lower Mainland. Forster likened it to having a "home team" to cheer for just like when jockey Mario Gutierrez from Hastings Racecourse won the Preakness and Kentucky Derby aboard I'll Have Another in 2012.

The last horse to win the Triple Crown was American Pharoah in 2015, and Langley's racing community is hoping Justify can pull off the difficult feat this year.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith