Tag: Justify

Monday Insights: Justify Filly Takes To Turf For First Start At Santa Anita

5th-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6fT, 6:00 p.m.
Running on the Monday holiday, Santa Anita cards a maiden grass race which includes JUST FOR FUN (Justify). A $485,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase by Mayberry Farm on behalf of Lee and Susan Searing's CRK Stable, the juvenile sets sail for trainer John Shirreffs.

The bay filly is out fo SP Appeal to the Win (Successful Appeal), who is a half-sib to MSW Cool Cowboy (Kodiak Kowboy) and the dams of GII Bourbon S. hero Mutasaabeq (Into Mischief) and GI Whitney H. champ White Abarrio (Race Day). Under Just for Fun's third dam, we find the dam of MGSW Pee Wee Reese (Tribal Rule).

Also making her debut is Lahar Blockade (Uncle Mo) for trainer Phi D'Amato. The bay filly went for $450,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale to Joey Platts and Volcanic Racing. TJCIS PPS

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‘Just’ on Fire: Just F Y I Rolls in Sloppy Frizette for Red-Hot Justify

Just F Y I (f, 2, Justify–Star Act, by Street Cry {Ire}), up in time by a head sprinting on debut at a well-backed 7-2 at the Spa Aug. 26, provided a rolling Grade I double for owner George Krikorian and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott with a powerful performance in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Frizette S. at a rainy Aqueduct Racetrack.

“[The track] was the big question and we didn't know,” Mott said after saddling his first Frizette winner since Confessional in 1998. “You don't know until you run them. We thought she was a nice filly and, in this day and age, I guess if you break your maiden impressively you're looking at going to a stakes race because there aren't many allowance races.”

As for a start in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita, Mott added, “That would be the plan today. We'll wait and see how she comes back and go from there.”

The 9-2 chance found a perfect spot in an outside third through an opening quarter in :23.63 while navigating the one-turn mile over very sloppy going. The Krikorian homebred loomed boldly while four wide on the far turn, gained a narrow advantage at the top of the stretch and leveled off beautifully down the lane to win going away by 3 3/4 lengths over longshot Central Avenue (Street Sense). Life Talk (Gun Runner) was third. Favored Emery (More Than Ready), a runaway winner on debut in the Saratoga mud Aug. 30, was a disappointing fourth.

Krikorian and Mott were also represented one race earlier on the card by GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. winner War Like Goddess (English Channel).

“It's very special,” Mott said. “[Mr. Krikorian] has been a very good client and he sends me some horses that he thinks are going to be OK. I have a small group of horses for him, but they are all quite nice.”

Krikorian added, “It's very special. I couldn't be more pleased, I'm ecstatic.”

Pedigree Notes:

Triple Crown winner Justify, sire of last Sunday's G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac Criterium des Pouliches heroine Opera Singer; Wednesday's GII Miss Grillo S. winner Hard to Justify; and Friday's GII Jessamine S. winner Buchu; is now responsible for four Grade I/Group 1 winners worldwide.

Out of a stakes-placed daughter of Krikorian's MGISW and savvy $35,000 FTKOCT yearling purchase Starrer (Dynaformer), Just F Y I hails from the female family of another accomplished set of fillies in MGISW Stellar Jayne (Wild Rush) and GISW Star Billing (Dynaformer).

This is also the family of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Uncle Benny (Declaration of War). Just F Y I's dam Star Act produced a 2023 full-sister to the victress and was bred to Life Is Good for 2024.

 

Saturday, Belmont The Big A
FRIZETTE S.-GI, $400,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-7, 2yo, f, 1m, 1:37.59, sy.
1–JUST F Y I, 120, f, 2, by Justify
                1st Dam: Star Act (SP, $147,605), by Street Cry (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Starrer, by Dynaformer
                3rd Dam: To the Hunt, by Relaunch
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-George Krikorian (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $220,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $277,750. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Central Avenue, 120, f, 2, by Street Sense
                1st Dam: Centring (MGISP, $509,102), by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Composure, by Touch Gold
                3rd Dam: Party Cited, by Alleged
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $80,000.
3–Life Talk, 120, f, 2, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Touchy Feely, by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Touched, by Touch Gold
                3rd Dam: Bay Barrister, by Miswaki
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($160,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $335,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable; B-Gun Runner Syndicate, Mulholland Springs LLC & Tom Grether Farms Inc. (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $48,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, HF, 1. Odds: 4.80, 18.60, 1.90.
Also Ran: Emery, Irish Maxima, Princess Indy.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Justify Picks Up Another Graded-Stakes Winner With Buchu In ‘WAYI’ Jessamine

Already a proven winner over the 1 1/16-mile trip, Buchu (Justify) made the jump from maiden winner to graded-stakes winner Friday with an eye-catching come-from-behind performance in the GII Jessamine S. on Keeneland's opening day.

Facing her fifth track in as many starts, the dark bay debuted with a pair of thirds on the dirt–first at Ellis Park June 16 and then to Saratoga in a rained-off event July 30. Sixth once she finally got on the turf in upstate New York Aug. 20, Buchu broke through at 4-1 by a clear 4 3/4 lengths when shipped back to Kentucky under the Twinspires not even two weeks ago Sept. 23.

Showcasing her preferred off-the-pace style again Friday, Buchu, who broke from the middle of the gate, let the majority of the field pass her in the opening furlong and wound up contesting ninth outside of Smooth Waves (English Channel) with only 41-1 shot Moonlight Gambler (Malibu Moon) behind her. Paced upfront by Bella Haze (Flameaway) and Asternia (Astern {Aus}), the field spaced themselves out through an opening quarter in :22.84. Buchu, now in a solo ninth, dropped all the way back to last as she was initially outsprinted into the far turn. Angled out widest of all with a quarter-mile to run, the 5-1 shot unleashed a furious rally inside the final furlong to pass the entire field and win going away by open lengths, crossing the wire with no one even within closing distance of her.

“I think sometimes horses for courses, so maybe riders for horses,” said winning trainer Phil Bauer on his filly's relationship with jockey Martin Garcia. “He really gets a lot of credit for developing this filly. He got her from three-eighths all the way forward and he decided to keep his tack in Kentucky, so when we went to New York, [jockey] Tyler [Gaffalione] jumped aboard. Mother Nature got in our way with the first start and then a troubled trip in the second one up there with Tyler. He didn't do anything wrong, but he was out of town when she ran back and we knew Martin loved her, so he hopped back aboard for her last breeze before her maiden win [at Churchill Downs Sept. 23], and we were confident going into that, as we were a few others, but in racing you need some luck to go with you. I'm just overwhelmed and really happy for Mr. Rigney, now with one that he bred. Cue the Mamas and the Papas, we're 'California Dreamin' .”

Pedigree Note:

A $275,000 RNA out of Keeneland September last year, Buchu was retained by her breeder and became the 19th graded/group winner worldwide for her Triple Crown-winning sire. She is the first foal out of a winning Galileo mare who is herself a daughter of MGSW Naples Bay (Giant's Causeway) and a full-sister to GSW First Minister (Ire). Third dam Cappucino Bay is seen in most pedigrees as the dam of MGISW and perennial leading sire Medaglia d'Oro (El Prado {Ire}). Flowering Peach reported an Uncle Mo filly this Spring and was covered by Golden Pal for 2024.

Friday, Keeneland
JESSAMINE S. PRESENTED BY KEENELAND NOVEMBER-GII, $350,000, Keeneland, 10-6, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:42.48, gd.
1–BUCHU, 118, f, 2, by Justify
         1st Dam: Flowering Peach (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
         2nd Dam: Naples Bay, by Giant's Causeway
         3rd Dam: Cappucino Bay, by Bailjumper
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($275,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP). O/B-Rigney Racing, LLC (KY); T-Philip A. Bauer; J-Martin Garcia. $200,725. Lifetime Record: 5-2-0-2, $294,955. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Pharoah's Wine, 118, f, 2, American Pharoah–Sweeping Paddy, by Paddy O'Prado. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-William Pacella, Nancy Delony, and Frank Shoop; B-Pacella Racing, Frank L. Jones, Nancy Delony & Frank Shoop (KY); T-Dale L. Romans. $64,750.
3–Crown Imperial, 118, f, 2, Classic Empire–Mi Fiori, by Congrats. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-4 G Racing (KY); T-John Alexander Ortiz. $32,375.
Margins: 3 3/4, NO, NK. Odds: 5.65, 13.87, 8.92.
Also Ran: Bella Haze, Moonlight Gambler, Smooth Waves, Appellate, Abeyance, Time to Dazzle, Toupie, Asternia.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Justify’s Hard to Justify Punches Breeders’ Cup Ticket in Miss Grillo

Hard to Justify (f, 2, Justify–Instant Reflex, by Quality Road) punched her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with a 7-1 upset in Wednesday's rescheduled 'Win and You're In' GII Miss Grillo S. at the Big A.

She sat a stalking trip in second and turned up the heat on the far turn. The bay stuck her head in front in the stretch and dug down deep to get the money by 3/4 of a length. Life's an Audible (Audible) was second; Whimsically (Uncle Mo) was third.

Hard to Justify, a narrow debut winner after overcoming a troubled trip in her unveiling over the Saratoga lawn July 23, becomes the 13th graded winner for Justify and ninth Miss Grillo winner for trainer Chad Brown.

Wednesday, Aqueduct
MISS GRILLO S.-GII, $200,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-4, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.92, fm.
1–HARD TO JUSTIFY, 120, f, 2, by Justify
                1st Dam: Instant Reflex (GSP), by Quality Road
                2nd Dam: Without Delay, by Seeking the Gold
                3rd Dam: Slow Down, by Seattle Slew
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($190,000
Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Wise Racing LLC; B-Yeguada Centurion S.L.
(KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $110,000. Lifetime
Record: 2-2-0-0, $167,750.
2–Life's an Audible, 120, f, 2, Audible–Catkins, by Data Link.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($25,000 Wlg '21
KEENOV; $90,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $200,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR).
O-Repole Stable; B-Susan Moulton (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$40,000.
3–Whimsically, 118, f, 2, Uncle Mo–Coming Attraction, by
Tapit. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($180,000
Ylg '22 FTSAUG). O-Haymarket Farm LLC, Ingordo, David,
Manganaro Bloodstock, LBD Stable LLC & Diamond T Racing;
B-Audley Farm Equine, LLC (VA); T-Cherie DeVaux. $24,000.
Margins: HF, 1, 2 3/4. Odds: 7.30, 12.70, 59.75.
Also Ran: Gala Brand, Memorialize, Gold Lightning, Later Darling, Sierra Sky, Steel Lute, Dancing Spirit, Camila T (Ire). Scratched: Appellate. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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