Haffner (2c Justify - Earth Strike, by Zoffany) continued his progress to claim Group 3 success in the Acomb Stakes at York on Wednesday. The Ballydoyle-trained son of Justify had finished second to exciting stablemate Abraham Lincoln at the Curragh in June and he duly went one better with victory at Newmarket next time out. He was last seen finishing a staying-on second in the Group 2 Vintage Stakes at Goodwood. Ridden by Ryan Moore, Haffner was positioned prominently on the outer and came to take up the lead two furlongs out. He stayed on to win by two lengths. Aidan O’Brien said: “He ran a lovely race at Goodwood, but Ryan thought he was a little bit babyish. “He’s a very good mover so we always thought the quicker the better for him with the ground, but Ryan said he handled that today, on the softer side of good, no problem. “With every week that goes by he’ll improve, he’s a typical Justify, they very rarely relent when they get to the front. “Ryan said he was a little bit slowly away but when he asked him he got there a little bit quicker than he wanted.” He added: “This horse will have no problem staying a mile, he’d have no problem going to a Breeders’ Cup over a mile. He could go to Doncaster for the Futurity Trophy and next year he’d have no problem with a mile and a quarter. “We have the trials in Ireland on Saturday and the National Stakes and all those races, but he’s right in the mix and always was.” Out of a half-sister to champion stayer Order Of St George, Haffner was bred by D J Stables and Justify Syndicate.