Well-bred Justify colt breezes through Exford Plate test
Having cost his connections a cool $1.4 million at the sales, being the first foal out of champion racemare Sunlight (Zoustar), a lot has been expected from Dawn Service (Justify) on the track, and he delivered a sign of what could lie ahead with an all-the-way success in Saturday’s Exford Plate (Listed, 1400m) at Flemington.
A colt by Coolmore’s ever-successful US Triple Crown-winning stallion Justify (Scat Daddy), the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained three-year-old had just the sole start as a juvenile, running third in an 1100-metre maiden at Randwick-Kensington on July 17.
Returning for his Classic-age season on August 1, Dawn Service produced a stylish four-length win in a 1300-metre maiden handicap at Hawkesbury.
Moving on to a Benchmark 72 (1300m) contest at Rosehill last time out, a few were likely to have been disappointed after he could only manage a second, beaten two and a half lengths, when sent off the $2.35 favourite.
However, the winner that day was a filly named Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun), who would go on to comfortably land the Up And Coming Stakes (Gr 3, 1300m) just two weeks on from that Benchmark victory and looks set to be a Group 1 winner in the making.
Sent off a $3.50 third-elect for Saturday’s Listed event under Blake Shinn, Dawn Service travelled strongly on the front end and, once asked for his effort entering the final 300 metres, found plenty to always hold runner-up Comanche Miss (Castelvecchio) by a length with just 0.1 lengths further back to favourite Daggers (I Am Invincible) in third.
DAWN SERVICE (3 c Justify – Sunlight) takes out the Exford Plate (Listed, 1400m) at @FlemingtonVRC for @gobloodstockaus, @GaiWaterhouse1 & @blake_shinn 🤩
The impeccably bred son of ex-@CoolmoreAus‘ shuttler JUSTIFY gives his sire a 6th SH stakes winner 🥇
He was a $1.4… https://t.co/kyIW9aip4x
— ANZ Bloodstock (@anz_news) September 14, 2024
“He made all from the start. Full credit Gai and Adrian. He’s impeccably bred out of a great mare in Sunlight,” the winning rider said.
“He’s a bold going horse, he’s a free-running type and it was our plan to make them chase us. He’s hard fit and had some good runs under his belt. It was a dominant effort.
“He controlled it, he went at a good gallop. I was confident he could do that. Gai and I had a chat this morning. That was the plan and it was good to get the result on him.”
Having been acquired by his trainers and Bruce Slade’s Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $1.4 million out of the Coolmore draft at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Dawn Service is raced by a partnership that includes Coolmore, Yulong, Westerberg and Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock, whose yellow and white colours he sports.
Following the race, Waterhouse and Bott’s stable representative Claudia Fitzgerald said a rise to Group 2 level in the Stutt Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) at The Valley on September 27 will be next for the colt, before a crack at the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) on October 12.
“Super effort. He handled it really well. The 1400 [metres], we knew would always suit him. He was too strong late,” said Fitzgerald.
“We’ll look to the Stutt Stakes and hopefully the Caulfield Guineas.”
Bred by Coolmore, Dawn Service (3 c Justify – Sunlight by Zoustar) is the first foal to come out of Champion 3YO Filly Sunlight (Zoustar), who was purchased by Tom Magnier as a broodmare prospect at the 2020 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale for $4.2 million.
The daughter of Zoustar won 11 of her total 24 career starts, including the Coolmore Stud Stakes, Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m), and William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m).
Coolmore sold a Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) colt from Sunlight for $1.4 million at Inglis Easter to Paul Moroney Bloodstock and Catherine Bruggeman, while the mare has a yearling filly by Coolmore Stud stallion Home Affairs (I Am Invincible), who like Sunlight also landed the Coolmore Stud Stakes. Last month, Sunlight foaled a sister to Dawn Service.
Justify, a resident at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud base in Kentucky, stood at the operation’s Australian base in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023 but has not returned to the Hunter Valley this year.