A$300,000 Filly Leads Justify Charge In Australia

Triple Crown winner Justify’s first Australian weanlings on offer were a hit this week when all four to go through the ring at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale were in the top 13 highest prices, led by an A$300,000 filly.

Purchased by Silverdale Farm and Suman Hedge Bloodstock, she was the most expensive filly of the sale and is a half-sister to multiple group winner Fiesta out of five-time winner Now Now. That mare is the dam of three winners from five to race and herself is a half-sister to Rock of Gibraltar’s Group II-placed Rock Cocktail.

Offered by breeder Mike O’Donnell’s Fairhill Farm, the filly was one of two Justifys in the top three prices for Fairhill alongside an A$280,000 colt.

"Danehill was a shuttle stallion starting out once as well, wasn't he? Justify was an unbeaten champion winner of the Triple Crown in his first prep, and so it’s very hard not to send our mares to him,” O’Donnell told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“That level of horse hasn't come out here before. If Secretariat had come out they would have jumped all over him. They are beautiful horses, and you’d think they would only improve from weanlings to yearlings.”

Bought by China Horse Club and Newgate Bloodstock – two of Justify’s original racing owners – the A$280,000 colt went through the ring as Lot 1 to kick off the sale.

Out of the Tale of the Cat mare Tails Wins, he is a half-sister to Newgate stallion and champion racehorse Super One and that stallion’s multiple Group-placed half-sister Super Too from their dam’s two foals to race.

All of the colt’s first four dams are either stakes performers or stakes producers themselves with U.S. Grade II winner and Grade I-placed Alannan and British champion Les Arcs both on the page as well.

"I was very impressed with the Justifys overall and I thought the horse we bought was very similar to the stallion himself," China Horse Club’s Mike Smith told Racing And Sport. "He had a lot of depth, strength and a lovely action, but at the same time he had a slightly more precocious look, due to the good mare he is out of. Obviously the mare has already produced two good horses and we were delighted to get him.”

Justify’s four sold rewarded him with the highest average and median of the sale with his aggregate only lower than a stallion who had 10 sold. All four of Justify’s weanlings offered brought six figures.