$1.4million for Justify Stakes-Winner Legacies

A homebred for Rosemont Stud, stakes-winning filly Legacies (3f Justify x Abyssinie, by Danehill Dancer) has a pedigree that would see her equally at home in any major Northern Hemisphere Sale and her quality shone through at the Gold Coast on Tuesday when she sold for $1.4million at the Magic Millions National Sale.

A stakes-winner at two and Group placed at three, the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman trained filly was purchased by Coolmore in partnership with Victorian breeder Robert McClure, but may race on in the short term as she holds entries for feature races at the Brisbane Winter Carnival.

“All credit to my brother-in-law who is very good at selling clothes, but also very good at mating mares to Justify because it was his mating that held sway,” Rosemont Stud’s Anthony Mithen said.

“He loved the stallion and we sent the mare and decided to race her, two Justify fillies out of that crop with the other one Everlasting Kiss who is with Trent Busuttin.

“We wanted to back the stallion in a bit and it is nice to get that sort of return and that sort of a result.”

Legacies is the best of four winners from imported Danehill Dancer mare Abyssinie (IRE), a three-quarter sister to Group I winners Aquarelliste and Artiste Royal from a family that bristles with European stakes-winners.

“I’ve never had such belief in a stallion like I have in Justify. That is well known,” said Robert McClure’s bloodstock adviser James Bester.

“She was a beauty. She has a great head, a fabulous hip on her and the most awesome action. She just glided across the ground. She has a huge overstep reaching out in front, quite my idea of the best physical specimen at the sale.”

Abyssinie was one of 188 mares covered by Justify in Australia last spring.