Justify Represented By First Japanese Winners

Coolmore America's Triple Crown-winning freshman sire Justify (Scat Daddy) was represented by his first two Japanese winners Saturday afternoon at Hanshin Racecourse, his 24th and 25th individual winners overall.

In the afternoon's opening event over 1800 meters, Kazumi Yoshida's 2-year-old colt Jovian, a debut second over the metric seven furlongs on Hanshin debut Nov. 19, was the 7-10 favorite to go one better and jumped right into the bridle for the visiting Cristian Demuro. Allowed to control the pace and maintaining a narrow lead into the second turn, Jovian responded when asked to kick entering the final 400 meters and reported home a seven-length winner (see below, SC 5). Bred in Kentucky by DS Stable LLC, Jovian is a son of Runway Doll (Majestic Warrior) and was purchased for $250,000 out of this year's OBS March Sale after breezing a furlong in :9 4/5.

First-time starting juvenile filly Awesome Result repeated the dose about 90 minutes later. Sent off the 14-5 second betting choice over the same nine-furlong distance, the daughter of Blossomed (Deputy Minister) settled midfield and raced in some traffic through the opening half-mile. Creeping into it nearing the straight, she was steered out by Yutaka Take and finished up nicely to graduate by 2 1/2 lengths (see below, SC 7), defeating the Demuro-ridden favorite Cours Mirabeau (Jpn), a son of successful young sire Drefong.

Also bred in the Bluegrass by Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt, Awesome Result is a half-sister to GI Spinaway S. winner Sippican Harbor (Orb) and to Bodacious Babe (Mineshaft), whose son Ju Taro (Arrogate) is already a three-time winner in Japan. Blossomed was acquired by Springhouse Farm in foal to Honor Code for $425,000 at Keeneland November two months after Sippican Harbor's upset at Saratoga in 2018.

Saturday's early results leapfrog Justify into the top spot on the leading first-crop sires table by earnings with just over $2.2 million. He is also the leader by black-type winners with six and graded winners with four.