Justify trio out to halt Militarize’s dominance in Caulfield Guineas
Coolmore shuttler could cement his southern hemisphere reputation in stallion-making race
Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) has a triple chance to build on his blistering form for Coolmore Stud with a first southern hemisphere Group 1 in one of the key races on the Australian calendar in today’s $3 million Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
In what shapes up as a battle to stop the favourite Militarize (Dundeel) seizing a fourth Group 1 at just his eighth start, Justify’s (Scat Daddy) flag will be flown by the fancied Ciaron Maher and David Eustace runner Scentify, Rob Griffiths and Mathew de Kock’s emerging third-starter Verdad, and by Coolmore’s own longshot Limburg.
Two colts at different ends of the spectrum dominate the market for one of the country’s most respected stallion-makers.
At one end is Militarize, from the giant Chris Waller stable and owned a syndicate headed by Newgate and the China Horse Club; and with Arrowfield having last week taken a share in his racing and stud interests, as they seek to further stoke the burgeoning CV of their sire Dundeel (High Chaparral).
Fresh from his barnstorming win in Rosehill’s Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) – after taking the elite double of the ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) and Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at two – Militarize was last night around the $2.60 mark, which would have been far shorter had he not drawn gate 12 of 15 for jockey Joao Moreira.
But he was being closely shaded at around $4 by Steparty (Artie Schiller). The bush-trained son of the unfashionable – and retired – Artie Schiller (El Prado), the unbeaten colt will seek to give his huge band of around 30 micro-owners a sixth win from six starts – and more interest from Hong Kong to bat away – if he can successfully rise to the mile trip, having taking the Caulfield Guineas Prelude (Gr 3, 1400m) last start.
Trained at Horsham by Paul Preusker, and bred and part-owned by St Arnaud’s Greg “Rocky” Baldwin, Steparty drew ideally in gate seven, for John Allen, who has been aboard for three of his wins, including Moonee Valley’s McKenzie Stakes (Listed, 1200m), and the Prelude, a race he had no business winning until the last few fearsome strides.
Numbers-wise, among the 13 colts and two geldings contesting the 142nd running of the Guineas, the strongest sire representation comes from Justify, whose Australian stud career now appears firmly on track.
The eight-year-old wasn’t shuttled last year, at the same time as he was making his way towards the Australian First-season Sires title for 2022-23, thanks mainly to two-year-old star Learning To Fly. He’s currently over-subscribed for his fourth Australian spring at a $77,000 service fee – up from $55,000 in 2021 – in which he’s booked to cover some 170 mares.
And Justify is one of the hot stallions of the moment, having sired two Group 1 and two Group 2 winners in the northern hemisphere in the first week of this month. They were highlighted by his first European top tier triumph, through Opera Singer in the Prix Marcel Boussac (Gr 1, 1600m) at Longchamp and by Just FYI’s win on the dirt in Belmont’s Frizette Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) six days later.
In today’s Guineas, Justify has perhaps the leading chance from a four-runner contingent from the Maher-Eustace stable in Scentify. The Watership Down-bred colt is having his first attempt at 1600 metres at his fifth start, but held up best of the leading pack off a hot early pace in the Guineas Prelude when third in a bobbing finish as the swoopers flew home.
Maher said he could make a case for each of his stable’s runners, though Scentify, who has barrier five for Ben Allen and has had his blinkers swapped for visors, was his first-mentioned.
“He’s got a bit of timing about him, I think,” Maher told ANZ Bloodstock News. “I just reckon he’s going to really peak for the race. Whether that’s good enough or not, we’ll find out – Militarize will be bloody hard to beat, you’d imagine – but Scentify worked very nicely the other day, and he should get a pretty good run from his gate.”
While the Coolmore-bred maiden colt Limburg will start at cricket score odds after his last-start fourth in Moonee Valley’s Stutt Stakes (Gr 2 1600m), gelding Verdad ($26) was given a decent chance of spoiling the stallion-making party by De Kock in view of his strong second that night.
At only his second start, the Merricks Station-bred Verdad surged home to finish a neck behind another Maher-Eustace rival today in Griff (Trapeze Artist), quoted at $26, after winning by nearly four lengths over 1300 metres at Bendigo on September 14.
Verdad was a $65,000 purchase at last year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for canny breeze-up specialist Tal Nolen, who flipped him to the Griffths-De Kock stable for $150,000 at Inglis’s Sydney Ready To Race sale this time last year.
“We saw him as a yearling and liked him, but our budget was full by then at that sale,” De Kock told ANZ Bloodstock News. “We always try to buy a couple at the breeze-ups, and when we saw him in, we went back on our notes, and he breezed-up really well and we thought we’d better take him on.
“He’s always shown ability. He had a little prep a while ago, and showed signs of coltishness, so we gelded him and put him out for the winter.
“When he came back this prep we thought he was a Derby horse. We still think he is, and with his sireline, he’ll see out further than a mile, but his debut win at Bendigo was so impressive we decided to supplement him into the Guineas.
“He ran a super race in the Stutt [Stakes], was a winner 50 metres past the post, and the winner Griff is a pretty well–fancied horse for tomorrow, so we thought we deserved to take our chances.
“He’s so lightly raced, he’s just kept making improvement between runs, which you’d expect a horse of his experience to do.”
De Kock conceded jockey Beau Mertens’ best tactic from barrier 14 today could be “to pray”, but said Verdad should give a good account of himself in what would “obviously be a massive test”.
“The beauty of him is he looks quite versatile. He doesn’t have to be on speed,” said De Kock, whose stable also has an as-yet–unraced three-year-old filly by Justify in Justaboom, a $150,000 Easter buy from Coolmore.
“Verdad is a physically imposing horse – tall, strong, big-boned and athletic. He actually looks like an American dirt–track horse.
“And Justify has been an unreal sire. All his wins were on the dirt in America, but he’s been a super sire on turf. He had that Group 1 winner in France last week. He’s doing the job all over the world at the moment.”
Preusker, who has around 80 horses on his books, made history in winning his sole Group 1 to date in 2021, to the chagrin of punters, when Lunar Fox (Foxwedge) took the Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) at a top-level record price of $301.
Today he sends Steparty to Caulfield at around one-75th of the price, but with no less romance, given his ‘bushie’ status and the vast team of celebrators in his ownership.
“He’s super. He’s improved off his last run. That tightened him up and I haven’t had to do much with him,” Preusker told ANZ Bloodstock News. “I’m confident he’s up to Group 1 class, and I’m pretty confident the mile is good for him. He settles good, and he works like it won’t be a problem.
“He’s a funny horse. He’s highly intelligent, he’s got the speed and he’s tough. I don’t think I’ve gone into a race any better in my life. I think I’ve got the right horse for the job and I wouldn’t change a thing.
“It won’t be easy. It’s a two-horse market, but there’s plenty of other chances.”
Maher-Eustace’s other chances comprise the somewhat enigmatic King Colorado (Kingman) ($9), who has gate eight for Michael Dee; Bennett Racing’s Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) ($19), with barrier four for Harry Coffey; and Griff, a drifting $23 hope who has the outside gate for Ben Melham.
King Colorado looked a superstar rising on taking Eagle Farm’s JJ Atkins (Group 1, 1600m) at his third start, but this prep has disappointed backers with two more elite-level runs in Sydney – ninth among older horses in the Winx Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m), and seventh in the Golden Rose when firming to $4.20.
“He’s been waiting to get to the mile,” said Maher, who’s added visors for this run. “He’s a big colt and I think that’ll help him with that little bit of focus. He works and trials in them.
“Gate eight’s not the worst gate for him. He can be midfield or maybe a pair closer.”
Southport Tycoon won his first two starts at Geelong and Sandown, before a narrow second in the Guineas Prelude, and gains a crossover nose band today for hopefully better settling.
“I think there’s not much between King Colorado, Scentify and Southport Tycoon – he has a crack, that horse,” Maher said. “Griff has been winning, though that hasn’t been the strongest form line.”
Tony McEvoy hopes former boom colt Veight (Grunt) ($15) can restore his reputation, after three wins from his first four starts gave way to a fading fifth in the Prelude. He’s at least drawn ideally in gate one, and Damian Lane, who was aboard for his first four runs but engaged in Sydney on Prelude day, resumes the reins from Melham.
“Ben said he just wanted to over-race and hang,” McEvoy said. “They didn’t quite get on, for some reason, and had a bad day. The horse just didn’t want to be in the race, and acted very out of character.
“But I’m very happy with him this week. He’s in a good headspace. We’ve put a bubble cheeker on him and taken the crossover nose band off. Maybe that was annoying him last start. And Damian Lane is back, and he gets on well with the horse.”