Star Of Justice and Grace ‘N’ Grey for sale
Fresh from selling Maven Belle (Burgundy) and Rhetorical (Sntizel) on the Gavelhouse.com site last week, Te Akau will be hoping for more good results, with the syndicator’s Group 3 winner Star Of Justice (Justify) and Grace ‘N’ Grey (Spirit Of Boom) catalogued amongst the 56 lots for the platform’s next fortnightly auction.
Group 1-winning mare Maven Belle (Burgundy) was sold for NZ$902,500, while the stakes-performed Rhetorical (Snitzel) fetched AU$202,500.
Those results were followed by a winning treble on racetracks across Australasia on Saturday afternoon for Te Akau, headed by a tenth Group 1 victory by champion sprinting mare Imperatriz (I Am Invincible).
Star Of Justice was bred by Pencarrow Stud and she is out of the winning Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mare Fair Isle, who is a daughter of the Listed winner and VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) runner-up Miss Scarlatti (Stravinsky).
Te Akau’s David Ellis paid $190,000 for Star Of Justice from Pencarrow Stud’s Book 1 draft at Karaka 2022. She won twice in a seven-start career, headed by her triumph in the Barneswood Farm Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) at Ashburton in October.
“Star Of Justice has a beautiful pedigree and showed her class with that Group 3 win in the spring,” Ellis said. “We have a half-brother to her in the stable that I think can win black type [Stonybreck], so I believe there’s real upside in that family.”
Grace ‘N’ Grey was bred by Cambridge Stud owners Brendan and Jo Linsday in partnership with David Redvers Bloodstock.
The four-year-old is out of the Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) mare Gracious Grey, who won twice and is a three-quarter-sister to the Group 2 winner Positive Peace (Stratum), and half-sister to another two stakes placegetters.
Cambridge Stud offered Grace ‘N’ Grey in Book 1 of New Zealand National Yearling Sale at Karaka in 2021, where Ellis bought her for $240,000. She ran second on debut as a spring two-year-old, and her second career start produced a brilliant win on Boxing Day at Ellerslie – beating subsequent Karaka Million 2YO (RL, 1200m) winner Dynastic (Almanzor).
Grace ‘N’ Grey was successful again in February of 2023 and ended her career with two wins and four placings from ten races.
“She has a lovely line-up of stallions on her page, going back to immortal sire Northern Dancer, and hers is a truly international family,” Ellis said. “She is all class, a lovely type, and she was particularly impressive in that win at Ellerslie on Boxing Day as a two-year-old.”