Vernon: Justice lays down the law in Empire Breeders Classic for male trotters

Justice overcame an extended first-over grind to score an impressive 1:53 3/5 decision in the $187,500 Empire Breeders Classic for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters on Friday afternoon at Vernon Downs.

Slay (Tim Tetrick), Branded By Lindy (Yannick Gingras), and Cool Papa Bell (Brian Sears) all showed early speed in the event, but Slay got the other two to line up behind him coming to the 27 3/5 opening quarter. Slay would continue on the front-end from there, reaching the half in 56 1/5 and the three-quarters in 1:24 3/5. Meanwhile, Justice (Ake Svanstedt) went first-up from fifth in the backstretch before the half and moved into second on the last turn.

In the lane Justice wore down and dispatched Slay and then kept pulling clear from the others en route to a 3 1/4 length victory. Branded By Lindy wound up second after getting boxed in the pocket until mid-stretch, and Cool Papa Bell finished third after he picked up cover from Justice on the final bend to sit second-over.

"He's a very strong horse, and he's got a good attitude. My opinion is that he's better on big tracks," said Svanstedt.

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A Chapter Seven colt bred by Diamond Creek Farm, Justice is also trained and co-owned by Svanstedt in partnership with Little E LLC. Torbjorn Swahn Inc., and Myfab Inc. Justice has compiled a record of 5-1-0 from seven career starts, and he pushed his earnings to $234,942. Sent off as the 4-1 third choice, he returned $10.60 to win.