Justify
Justify is displaying all the potential one might hope to see in a stallion who was an unbeaten winner of the Triple Crown. A close third among America’s freshman sires in 2022. By early November of 2023 he was the leading second-crop sire by SWs (13), GSWs (10) and G1SWs (6) and the leading juvenile sire by a substantial amount.
He already has Gr.1 winners on dirt and turf and his progeny are equally at home in the U.S., Europe and Australia, over a range of distances from five furlongs to a mile and a quarter, and at both two and three years. In other words, he is showing all the versatility we came to expect of his remarkable sire Scat Daddy.
Scat Daddy owed his total of 53 GSWs in the northern hemisphere to no fewer than 47 different broodmare sires. Justify is also working well with a variety of bloodlines, with his first 18 northern hemisphere-bred stakes winners having 14 different broodmare sires.
One of Justify’s Gr.1 winners, Aspen Grove, has a dam inbred 4x4 to MR PROSPECTOR and his Gr.3 winner Red Riding Hood has a dam inbred 4x3. Another of his Gr.1 winners, Arabian Lion, is out of a DISTORTED HUMOR mare. It was a grand-daughter of Forty Niner, by END SWEEP, who produced Scat Daddy’s fast daughter Acapulco.
Justify’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Hard To Justify and his fast European 2YO filly Ramatuelle have broodmare sires, QUALITY ROAD and RAVEN’S PASS respectively, which are sons of ELUSIVE QUALITY. Scat Daddy sired the highly successful No Nay Never from an ELUSIVE QUALITY mare. Justify’s Gr.3 dirt winner Just Cindy is out of a mare by GONE WEST’s son PROUD CITIZEN.
Scat Daddy sired Graded winners from mares by SMART STRIKE and his son CURLIN while No Nay Never has two Gr.2 winners out of a mare by Smart Strike’s son ENGLISH CHANNEL. Two other grandsons of MR PROSPECTOR to do well with Scat Daddy are STREET CRY (broodmare sire of Gr.1 winners Skitter Scatter and Con Te Partiro) and THUNDER GULCH. STREET CRY sired the dam of Justify’s Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Just F Y I and also sired the 2nd dam of his Gr.1 Belmont Oaks winner Aspen Grove.
EMPIRE MAKER mares had 20% SWs with Scat Daddy. Scat Daddy also had Graded winners from mares by UNBRIDLED’S SONG’s sons BUDDHA, SONGANDAPRAYER, FIRST DEFENCE and ROCKPORT HARBOR.
Scat Daddy sired Gr.1 winners from SEATTLE SLEW line mares. TAPIT’s daughters produced 43% SWs to Scat Daddy and already have Justifiy’s Gr.3 dirt winner Champions Dream. Justify’s first five runners out of BERNARDINI mares include 2YO dirt Listed winners Justique and Justa Warrior. His Gr.1 winner Arabian Lion has a 2nd dam by A.P. INDY.
SADLER’S WELLS sired the dam of Justify’s 2023 2YO Gr.1 winner Opera Singer and the 2nd dam of his Gr.2 2YO winner Statuette. GALILEO, the best sire son of SADLER’S WELLS, is already the broodmare sire of three of Justify’s Group winners, including the 2023 European Champion 2YO elect City of Troy. Scat Daddy sired Gr.1 winner Nickname from a grand-daughter of EL PRADO, so daughters of MEDAGLIA D’ORO and KITTEN’S JOY should be strongly considered for Justify.
NUREYEV’s grandson PIVOTAL sired the dam of Statuette and the 2nd dam of Ramatuelle, both are impressive Gr.2 2YO winners. The exceptional colt City of Troy has a 2nd dam which is by THEATRICAL. Justify’s very smart Australian Gr.2-winning 2YO Learning To Fly and New Zealand Group winner Star of Justice both have 2nd dams by STRAVINSKY, another son of NUREYEV.
Scat Daddy proved tremendously effective as a sire of European turf horses, even though he raced exclusively on dirt – as did Justify. European breeders looking for an outcross should consider using Justify on their DANZIG line mares, especially as No Nay Never’s dual Gr.1-winning son Ten Sovereigns has a dam by EXCEED AND EXCEL and his 4-time Gr.1-winning daughter Alcohol Free is out of a mare by HARD SPUN. Justify’s first four Stakes winners from his first Australian crop all have DANEHILL close up in their pedigrees, two have dams by FASTNET ROCK, another has DANEHILL DANCER as a broodmare sire, while the other has a 2nd dam by DANEHILL. Justify’s 2023 European 2YO Gr.1 winner Opera Singer has a 2nd dam by DANEHILL DANCER. No Nay Never has thrived with mares from the GREEN DESERT branch of the DANZIG line, siring the likes of dual Gr.1-winning 2YO Blackbeard.
Scat Daddy’s exceptionally fast Lady Aurelia is inbred 4x3 to STORM CAT, as she has a dam by FOREST WILDCAT, so there’s plenty of scope for more STORM CAT blood. Justify already has North American stakes winners out of mares by GIANT’S CAUSEWAY and his son FOOTSTEPSINTHESAND. Justify’s 2YO Gr.2 winner Buchu has a 2nd by GIANT’S CAUSEWAY meaning she is 5x4 to STORM CAT. Red Riding Hood, one of his Gr.3 winners, is inbred 5x3. Justify also has two Gr.3 winners with 2nd dams by MENIFEE suggesting that INTO MISCHIEF mares could work with Justify and would only result in 5x5 inbreeding to the multiple Champion 2YO Sire STORM CAT.
Justify’s first two runners out of MORE THEN READY mares are winners, including Gr.1 winner Aspen Grove.
This suggest that mares from other branches of the HALO or HAIL TO REASON sire lines are worthy of consideration and this was highlighted again as Gr.1 winner Just F Y I has a 2nd dam by DYNAFORMER, a son of ROBERTO.