JUSTIFY’S daughter LEARNING TO FLY (2f Justify x Ennis Hill, by Fastnet Rock) continued to help her sire make a big splash when she jumped into Group 1 Golden Slipper favouritism after her sizzling win in the $2 million Inglis Millennium.
LEARNING TO FLY zooms down the outside to claim victory
As a result, JUSTIFY has surged to lead at the top of the Australian first season sire’s table and it would take a near miracle to deny him of Champion First Season Sire in Australia.
ADAM WATT from Dynamic has been at the Inglis Classic the past few days inspecting all the JUSTIFY progeny in the sale and recorded the following report live from the Inglis Sales grounds.
BELOW - Hear from ADAM WATT at the Inglis Classic chat about JUSTIFY and LEARNING TO FLY
Justify x Orontes - Learning to Fly from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.
The first Australian winner for Justify from just four starters, LEARNING TO FLY has had two starts for two wins in the Group 3 ATC Widden Stakes and $2 million Inglis Millennium, and the sire has taken his earnings total earnings to $1,324,400.
JUSTIFY - brilliant racehorse now a super sire
Justify has sired 33 winners, including 7 Stakes Winners, 5 Stakes Placegetters and 3 Stakes Performers. That equals 15 of his 33 winning progeny have earned Black Type to date, and that is a massive 45.5% and no other stallion in recent memory comes close, which is encouraging for a sire whose offspring are expected to improve as three and four year-olds over ground.
JUSTIFY on the FLY
JUSTIFY (USA) was a sensational racehorse, an undefeated World Champion 3yo, and the USA Triple Crown winner, and is now a genuine superstar at stud with his First Crop in both Hemispheres.
In his first crop of Australian two-year-olds, the Annabel Neasham trained filly LEARNING TO FLY scored an outstanding win in the $2million Inglis Millennium (1100m) at Randwick to cement her place as outright favourite for the Golden Slipper.
In the process, JUSTIFY has almost certainly wrapped up the First Season Sires Premiership in Australia by the main criteria – Earnings.
Learning To Fly winning the Widden Stakes on debut
LEARNING TO FLY made a winning debut in the Group 3 ATC Widden Stakes last month and she made it two wins in as many starts when overcoming an outside gate to score a long neck win over Blanc de Blanc.
In contrast to her previous win when she was ridden forward, this time Chad Schofield allowed the glamour filly to settle back in the field, and she let down with a powerful finish to zoom past her rivals and take the lucrative prize.
“She is very special. I'll have to watch it again, but she had a lot of work to do from the draw and probably the way the track was playing today, that horses were making up ground, it made me a little bit more confident.” Trainer Annabel Neasham said.
"It's a shame when they draw wide and we made that call we'd ride her a little bit quieter, but she's got so much gate speed Chad had to restrain her back.
"But he was oozing confidence, Chad, before the race. He was very calm. He's done a lot of work with the filly and I'm just so grateful to be training a filly for Coolmore and their partners and Kia Ora. They're such great people and to entrust me with this filly that is so well bred is amazing and it's good to get the job done.
"I have to pinch myself a little bit. I'm almost speechless to win a big race like that in those colours (Coolmore’s Navy Blue), it's very special."
LEARNING TO FLY is owned by Kia Ora Stud, Coolmore, Westerberg, & J Poulin.
Chad Schofield is full of praise for Learning to Fly, having ridden her in both of her wins which have netted connections over $1.2million in prizemoney.
“She’s a filly I’ve loved since the first day I sat on her, and I knew she was a top-class horse,” said Chad Scofield.
“Today we had a wide run and at the top of the straight I thought we could run into third or fourth because I had so much work to do, but she just kept picking up and picking up. She’s got a dynamic turn of foot as we saw today.
“She’s a beautiful horse you can do anything with. The world is her oyster.”
LEARNING TO FLY was a $900,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Kia Ora Stud from the Coolmore draft and runs for a partnership involving both Kia Ora and Coolmore.
LEARNING TO FLY was foaled and raised at Coolmore and is the second foal and first winner from Fastnet Rock’s Group 3 winning daughter Ennis Hill.
Ennis Hill is a sister to Lake Geneva, who won the Listed MVRC William Crockett Stakes and placed in the Gr1 Golden Slipper and Gr1 Blue Diamond as well as Acrobat, who won the Inglis Nursery (RL) at his only start.
This result is no surprise to the Team at Dynamic Syndications as our Owners and followers are aware of the high regard we have in Justify and we backed our confidence purchasing 4 of his yearlings last season and each has shown us above average ability in early training to date.
Such was the impression he has on us, in collaboration with CIARON MAHER we went to the Magic Millions to buy the best colt we could find bred on the JUSTIFY x Danehill cross and we achieved that result when purchasing, what we considered was the best genetically bred colt on type and veterinary approval at the sale.
Since then, LEARNING TO FLY has proven our theory that the cross works. She is bred the same way being from a granddaughter of Danehill.
At The Sales: MAGIC MILLIONS 2023 – JUSTIFY for a Second Crop Sire, despite at that time without a winner in the Southern Hemisphere, was in demand again finishing inside the TOP 10 by Averages.
The wraps around the industry from trainers who have his progeny in work ensured the sires progeny were being inspected.
Now with his first winner claiming the Gr3 Widden S., and the $2m Millennium, the filly is now favourite for the Slipper, that looks astute buying for such quality yearlings.
Sold W/D P/I Ave Median Top Gross
Justify 10 4 1 $369,000 $230,000 $1.4m $3,690,000
The son of Scat Daddy has 12 catalogued for Easter, 9 at the Inglis Classic, and 11 at the Inglis Premier.
Dynamic Syndications / Dean Watt Bloodstock / Ciaron Maher Racing purchased a terrific Colt by JUSTIFY at the Magic Millions. Lot 206 was a Chestnut Colt from ORONTES (by Champion Sire & Champion Broodmare Sire – REDOUTE’S CHOICE).
OUR COLT
Whilst ORONTES was Unraced, she is a three-quarter-sister to Gr1 Winner TAKEDOWN (by Stratum) 7 wins-3 in succession at 2-1100m to 1400m, $1,628,803, WATC Winterbottom S., Gr.1, ATC Premiere S., Gr.2, Shorts H., Gr.2, Schweppervescence H., Gr.3, Canberra RC Black Opal S., Gr.3, Gold Coast Guineas, Gr.3, 2d MRC Moonga S., Gr.3, BRC Fred Best Classic, Gr.3, ATC Fireball S., L, 3d ATC Arrowfield 3YO Sprint S., Gr.2, VRC Chester Manifold S., L, ATC Heritage S., L, 4th ATC Premiere S., Gr.2, Roman Consul S., Gr.2, BRC Victory S., Gr.2, ATC Show County H., Gr.3, Darby Munro S., L, SAJC Christmas H., L.
As good as the record of TAKEDOWN reads, industry participants universally agree the TAKEDOWN should have achieved significantly more Gr1 success in Sydney which would have placed him at the pinnacle of his foal crop peers.
Our Colt’s 2nd Dam is Stakes Placed APAMEA, by Zafonic. 2 wins at 1500m, 1600m, SAJC Neil Sachse Foundation H., 2d Maisons-Laffitte Prix Prestige, 3d Maisons-Laffitte Prix Ronde de Nuit, L, 4th Chantilly Prix Sigy, L.
Whilst his 3rd Dam is Stakes Winner ANGELINA BALLERINA, by Nureyev. 3 wins-1 at 2-at 6f, Newbury Rose Bowl S., L, 2d California Oaks, L, 3d Phoenix Park Debutante S., Gr.3, 4th Hollywood Park Silver Belles H., Gr.2.
OUR COLT
Typical of high-quality yearlings, you must bid up to own them.
Last year Team DYNAMIC were very bullish on JUSTIFY as a first crop sire and put our money where our mouth was, buying 4 of his yearlings. Since then he has had a belter of a year in the Northern hemisphere and what each of our 4 yearlings have shown us in early training he will make it here in Australia as well. So we were keen to go back to the well so to speak, and buy another JUSTIFY this year.
We have 2 with CIARON MAHER; 1 With RICHARD & WILL FREEDMAN and 1 with ANNABEL NEASHAM
Each of our trainers like what they have from us but Ciaron is really hot on our 2: ex Savapinski & ex Tingu.
So knowing this in advance we teamed up and worked in conjunction with CIARON MAHER, to identify this colt as the most athletic, and potential later 2yo type by JUSTIFY that would develop into a cracking sort as a 3yo, that we inspected at the sale, that could be in our price range. The others we felt would be later 3yo types. The only other Justify that qualified for us and that we both wanted, and we felt could also do the job and was our second choice which sold 20 lots later for $460,000.
There is no doubt in our mind that JUSTIFY will work well in Australia with Danehill line mares, and the best of Danehill’s sons, grandsons and great grandsons is Champion Broodmare Sire REDOUTE’S CHOICE. It is no coincidence that LEARNING TO FLY is from a broodmare by another champion son of Danehill being - FASTNET ROCK.
JUSTIFY had stood for $60,000 + GST Service Fee in 2020, the year of conception, and our colt was rated a 3.5 to 4 times Service Fee Colt. That valued him for us between $210,000 to $240,000 and we saw the Hammer Fall at $200,000 + GST.
Lot 206 - Justify (USA) x Orontes from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.
Lot 206 - Justify Colt with Ciaron Maher Racing from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.
We truly feel we got a bit lucky as he was the first of the correct JUSTIFY yearlings to sell so the market was unsure where they should be valued which helped us. No doubt had the colt been sold later in the sale we would not be the owners as her would have made significantly more.
To find out more before we go to market with our JUSTIFY x ORONTES Colt give ADAM WATT a call on 02 9540 1511 or 0409 464 378 and have a chat.