James makes hotly anticipated debut in turf route

James, a 3-year-old colt trained by Michael Stidham, will make his debut with some well-deserved hype on Friday at Laurel Park. A $250,000 purchase last year, he will tackle 1 1/16 miles on turf in a $47,000 maiden special weight.

“He’s a big, good-looking 3-year-old colt, well bred, and his works in the morning have been solid,” Stidham said. “We’re ready to get him started, but we think he’s got a bright future.”

Owned by Walmac Farm, James was sold at auction three times before landing in Stidham’s barn earlier this year. After he sold for $450,000 as a foal and $195,000 as a yearling, Walmac purchased the Justify colt at the 2025 Ocala Breeders’ Sale spring sale of 2-year-olds in training.

In the last five years, Stidham is 3 for 29 with 3-year-olds debuting in turf routes, typically taking a patient approach in developing those who want to go longer. He saw no other course of action for James, however.

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“He’s certainly got two-turn turf written all over him as far as his thighs and his stride and the way he’s worked in the morning, so we didn’t see any need of sprinting him in his first start.” Stidham said. “We felt like going to the route was the right thing to do with him.”

In his prolific breeding career, Justify has produced many international turf stars, including European Group 1 winners City of Troy and Opera Singer, Australian-bred stakes winner Storm Boy, and American graded stakes winners Stellify and Buchu.

James’s dam, Timely, never tried the surface but has produced two turf winners in Kentucky.

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