Justify receives more high praise after City of Troy wins Epsom Derby

Triple Crown winner Justify notched another international accomplishment in his blazing early stallion career as his son City of Troy won the Epsom Derby on Saturday.

The colt was bred in Kentucky by affiliates of the international Coolmore group, and became the first U.S.-bred winner of the English classic since Kris Kin in 2003. Afterward, Aidan O’Brien, who trains for Coolmore, heaped more praise on Justify.

“The exciting thing for us is Justify,” O’Brien told the British press. “He’s looked very special all the way [as a stallion], and the class that they have, they have speed and stamina.”

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O’Brien added another superlative, adding that Justify’s runners are “Galileos with more class,” referencing the late Coolmore stallion, an international titan.

Justify, last year’s leading 2-year-old sire, has followed in the mold of his own sire, Scat Daddy. That late stallion not only sired a Grade 1 winner at 1 1/2 miles on dirt in Justify, he sired the likes of crack turf sprinter Lady Aurelia, a European champion. Likewise, Justify’s Grade 1 winners last year in the U.S. alone included everything from a dirt sprinter in Arabian Lion, to a turf router in Aspen Grove.

The versatility has quickly allowed him to make a global mark. Justify is the sire of Eclipse Award champion Just F Y I, European champions City of Troy and Opera Singer, and Australian champion Learning to Fly; he is represented by stakes winners in the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, France, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

Justify is based at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky, where the breeding season is winding down. He will not shuttle to spend the Southern Hemisphere season at Coolmore's Australian farm, where he stood in 2019, 2020, 2021, and in 2023. International demand for the young sire is still strong. Coolmore has always sent top European mares to Kentucky stallions it wishes to support – as was the case with Group 1 winner Together Forever, the dam of City of Troy – and will do so again this year. Mares that the international outfit has reported to be sending to Justify in Kentucky include Love, whose five Group 1 wins included the Epsom Oaks; fellow Oaks winner Was and English 1000 Guineas winner Mother Earth; seven-time Group 1 winner Magical; and multiple Group 1 winner Rhododendron, dam of Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Auguste Rodin.

Meanwhile, Justify will also be available to serve a select book of mares on Southern Hemisphere time while remaining in Kentucky.

“It’s a similar situation to Frankel in England where they serve mares to Southern Hemisphere time,” Coolmore’s Tom Magnier said in a release. “We will be sending up some of our best mares and some of our clients here will have the opportunity to send their mares to him too.”

Australian mares confirmed to ship to Justify’s court include Group 1 winners Booker and Nakeeta Jane.

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