Justify Juveniles Take Home Top Honors at Cartier Awards
Justify runners swept the Cartier 2-year-old awards on Thursday with City of Troy named Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and Opera Singer Champion 2-Year-Old Filly.
Owned by the Coolmore partners, who also bred the colt, the Aidan O’Brien trainee broke his maiden on debut on July 1 by 2 ½ lengths. Two weeks later, he made easy work of the Group II Superlative Stakes with a 6 ½ length romp on good to soft ground over seven furlongs.
Coming back three months later for his final start of the season, he showed that ground wasn’t a problem in the Group I Dewhurst Stakes.
Again running over seven furlongs on soft ground, it was clear that he could have won by even more than the 3 ½ lengths registered if Ryan Moore had asked for more.
Out of Group I winner Together Forever, City of Troy has an Uncle Mo yearling half-sister to come next year.
“We’ve been very fortunate also that this year we have an outstanding two-year-old, and we are lucky that we actually have the sire, Justify, who this year had six Grade or Group One winners and four of them are two-year-olds, so we are really looking forward to next year,” said Coolmore’s Christy Grassick.
Another trained by O’Brien for Westerberg and the Coolmore partners, Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Opera Singer’s only off-the-board finish came on debut in June.
She easily broke her maiden over one mile the following month before failing to register a second consecutive victory by just a nose when returned to seven furlongs in mid-August.
Another Justify juvenile who showed she could run well on a quick turnaround, Opera Singer made easy work of her stakes debut with a 6 ½ length romp in the Group III Newtownanner Stud Irish EBF Stakes two weeks later.
Opera Singer kicked off an incredible October and November for Justify as his first Group I winner of that period when destroying the competition in the Group I Prix Marcel Boussac. Taking command early, the filly romped to a five length win at Longchamp.
Bred by Evie Stockwell, she is the latest top runner out of Sadler’s Wells mare Liscanna who also produced Grade I winners Hit It a Bomb and Brave Anna.
“Opera Singer is a very special filly and she’s by a very special stallion in Justify. More importantly, she was bred by a very special lady, John Magnier’s late mother Evie Stockwell, who enjoyed tremendous success with this family. For Justify and the team to win champion two-year-old colt this evening and now champion two-year-old filly, really makes it a very special evening for us and thank you from all at Coolmore and Ballydoyle,” Coolmore’s Kevin Buckley said.
Leading second crop sires in virtually every stakes category and tied with Into Mischief at the top of the leaderboard with six Grade I winners, Justify has a chance to see another champion crowned early next year with Just F Y I looking like a top choice in the Eclipse Awards Champion 2-Year-Old Female Category.