The 8 Justify Progeny at PJC — A Deep Dive Into Where They Came From

Progeny of 2018 U.S. Triple Crown winner Justify are racing in numbers at the Philippines’ PJC (Philippine Jockey Club) — eight of them.
What most of them share is a story: well-bred youngsters that sold for a lot, failed to shine in the USA, Australia or Singapore, and were then imported cheaply to the Philippines.
The highest official rating belongs to IRE-bred LEGITIFY (R75); the most wins and best strike rate at PJC go to USA-bred JUSTIFIABLY SO (3 wins from 7, 42.9%).
This piece digs into each horse’s pre-import sale prices and overseas form from primary sources, while scoping local results to PJC meetings only (MMTCI excluded).

The Sire — Justify, 2018 U.S. Triple Crown Winner

First, the sire.
Justify (USA), by Scat Daddy, won the 2018 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont to become America’s 13th Triple Crown winner.
He retired to stud at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky, and his progeny include the 2024 Epsom Derby (G1) winner City of Troy — a global top sire.
Through Coolmore’s worldwide network his stock has spread far and wide, and some have been imported relatively cheaply to race at PJC.

The 8 Justify Progeny at PJC (Local Form = PJC Only)

Here are the eight, ordered by official rating.
Starts, placings and strike rates are scoped to PJC meetings (as of 28 June 2026).

A caveat: small-sample rates like NEFERURE’s “1 win from 2 (50%)” or JUST SUPER’s single start are unreliable. Read win rates alongside the number of starts.

Before Import — Well-Bred Horses From Strong Jurisdictions

This is the heart of the story.
Trace the eight back to their origins and a pattern emerges: horses that sold for serious money, underperformed in the USA, Australia or Singapore, and arrived cheaply in the Philippines.

Horse by horse:

• LEGITIFY (IRE-bred, raced in the USA): Irish-bred but campaigned in California. A US$275,000 Keeneland September yearling in 2022 (bought by MyRacehorse) for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, he managed just 6 starts and 1 win (a single claiming win at Santa Anita, ~US$16,400). A well-bred horse who only reached claiming level in the U.S. now tops the eight at PJC with a rating of 75.
• JUSTIFIABLY SO (USA-bred): a US$375,000 Fasig-Tipton yearling — the dearest of the group. Raced in the U.S. for Nick Zito, he was a maiden through 5 starts (best 3rd). In the Philippines he has 3 wins from 7 (42.9%), the most of any of the progeny — a textbook echo of Lucency, the U.S. allowance horse who became unbeatable locally.
• WINDFALL (AUS-bred, raced in Singapore): made A$300,000 as a weanling in 2021 (vendor Coolmore), then crashed to A$10,000 as a 2yo in 2022, bought by the Philippines’ Sandy Javier. He actually raced in Singapore (Kranji) — 21 starts, 3 wins — before reaching PJC, so he is a seasoned runner.
• NEFERURE (AUS-bred): an A$130,000 Inglis Premier yearling in 2022. A maiden through 8 starts in Australia (one second) for the powerful Ciaron Maher stable, she then sold for A$19,000 to L Ann Decena — USIR’s owner (and the same Hipolito stable).
• AERIAL BAY (AUS-bred): passed in at A$200,000 as an Inglis Easter yearling in 2022. She won once from 12 starts in Australia (a Wangaratta maiden) and was finally bought for A$32,500 by M Ang Espina.
• JUSTICE PLEASE (AUS-bred): an A$120,000 Magic Millions yearling in 2023 (Kris Lees stable). She raced on for 17 starts and 1 win in Australia (a Gosford maiden; 4th in a Listed race at two), then sold for just A$4,750 to M Cunanan in 2026 — the steepest fall of the group.
• JUSTICE PREVAILS (AUS-bred): an A$20,000 Magic Millions yearling in 2023, bought directly by the Philippines’ Jun R Sevilla. Unraced in Australia, he made his debut at PJC.

The dam lines are classy, too.
LEGITIFY’s dam Sarrocchi is a Galileo mare and an Irish Listed winner; JUSTICE PREVAILS’s dam My Tusker won three Group 2s in NZ (a Horlicks-family mare).
NEFERURE’s dam Erin (IRE) descends from a family of Irish G1 winner Sequoyah (Moyglare Stud S.) and Henrythenavigator; JUSTICE PLEASE’s dam Pleasurable is a close relative of German champion stayer Red Cardinal.
AERIAL BAY’s dam Excelsior Island is a half-sister to NZ champion 2yo Warhorse.
All European or Australian black-type families — reinforcing the picture of “well-bred horses that didn’t quite make it at home.”

Who’s on Top — LEGITIFY and JUSTIFIABLY SO

The leader splits two ways.

First, by official rating, LEGITIFY is on top (R75).
An IRE-bred colt, he is a steady 1 win and 3 placings from 5 PJC starts, trained by Renato D. Hipolito — who also handles USIR and NEFERURE. LEGITIFY has even beaten American Pharoah’s son USIR.

Second, on PJC wins, JUSTIFIABLY SO leads (3 from 7, 42.9%).
A maiden in the U.S., he leads the progeny on wins in the Philippines — the sharpest before-and-after of the group.
Add JUSTICE PREVAILS — an A$20,000 yearling, now a PJC winner — and these three colts hold the top strike rates.

Distance Trend — A Triple Crown Sire’s Progeny Sprinting

Every PJC win by a Justify runner has come at 1200–1400m (JUSTIFIABLY SO at 1200m and 1400m; LEGITIFY at 1400m; JUSTICE PREVAILS at 1200m; NEFERURE at 1200m).
Justify himself was a middle-distance horse who won classics around 2000m, but his PJC runners are delivering as sprinter-milers — a fit between the local program (built around sprints and miles) and the progeny’s aptitude.

How He Compares — USA and Japan Progeny

The same Justify blood sorts into clear tiers by where it races.
The USA keeps the top home-bred crops, Japan takes a few hand-picked, expensive imports, and the Philippines picks up cheaply the ones that did not make it elsewhere.

Three takeaways:

• The cream goes to Japan, the bargains to the Philippines. US champion 2yo filly Just F Y I was bought by Japan’s Northern Farm for about US$4.5M, while PJC’s Justify runners were imported from A$4,750. One sire’s progeny, sorted across the world by market value.
• Distance shows up differently in each place. Justify himself was a dirt classic horse (~2000m). His US progeny shine over routes and classics; Japan’s standout Awesome Result excels over middle-distance dirt (2000–2100m); PJC’s runners win sprint-to-mile (1200–1400m). That reflects each jurisdiction’s program and speed demands more than any difference in the stock.
• Dual-surface versatility. He has G1 winners on US dirt (Just F Y I) and US turf (Aspen Grove), plus a European turf classic winner in City of Troy — versatility that lets his stock hold up on the Philippines’ mostly dirt circuit.

In short, PJC’s Justify progeny occupy the value floor of a bloodline that spans the globe — and still run near the top locally.

The Only Philippine-Bred — JUST SUPER

The one horse here that is not an import is JUST SUPER (PHI-bred colt, 3yo).
Bred, owned and trained by Leonardo M. Javier Jr., out of the Irish-bred mare Awesome Diamond, he is a three-year-old yet to earn an official rating — a rare “Philippine-bred Justify” to watch alongside the imports.

A Note on Data Scope

For transparency: all local figures (starts, placings, strike rates) are scoped to PJC meetings only, and exclude MMTCI (Metro Manila Turf) races and barrier trials.
This keeps the scope aligned with the theme — “Justify progeny racing at PJC.” So a horse like NEFERURE, who races mainly at MMTCI, looks different across all venues (1 win from 2 at PJC → 1 win from 7 overall).
Pre-import overseas form is drawn from each country’s sale and racing records (Keeneland / Fasig-Tipton / Inglis / Magic Millions / Equibase / Breednet).

Related Articles

• Who Is USIR — Grandson of NZ Champion Seachange — another well-bred import from the Hipolito stable, beaten by LEGITIFY in one race
• The Famous Bloodlines Coming to the Philippines — A Record Influx — the supply side that brings in U.S. and Australian pedigrees like Justify’s
• Who Is Lucency — Why a U.S. Allowance Horse Is Unbeatable Locally — the “well-bred import rising in the Philippines” pattern in its dominant form

Summary

Eight progeny of Justify (the 2018 U.S. Triple Crown winner) currently race at PJC.
Most are well-bred horses that fetched US$275k–375k or A$120k–300k as youngsters, failed to shine in the USA, Australia or Singapore, and were imported to the Philippines for as little as A$4,750 up to A$32,500.
Locally, the standard-bearers are top-rated LEGITIFY (R75) and JUSTIFIABLY SO (3 wins from 7), a horse who went from U.S. maiden to PJC’s most successful Justify.
Every win has come at 1200–1400m: a middle-distance Triple Crown sire showing up as sprinter-miler speed in the Philippines.
Expensive, well-bred stock arriving cheaply and performing locally — it is a useful lens on the level of Philippine racing and the quality of its imports, and one worth following.

Sources

• Philippine Jockey Club — Horse Database (each horse’s pedigree, local record and rating; e.g. LEGITIFY)
• Wikipedia — Justify (horse) (2018 U.S. Triple Crown; pedigree; stud)
• Coolmore — Justify (stallion profile; sire of City of Troy)
• BloodHorse Stallion Register — Justify (stakes-winner counts and sire rankings)
• BloodHorse — Keeneland September Sale Critical to Japanese Successes (Justify imports to Japan and prices)
• Wikipedia (JA) — Awesome Result / オーサムリザルト (Japan’s leading Justify runner; 3 dirt graded wins)
• Equibase — Legitify (USA record: 6 starts, 1 win)
• TrueNicks — Justify yearlings at Keeneland September (LEGITIFY = US$275,000)
• Equibase — Justifiably So (USA record: 5 starts, 0 wins, best 3rd)
• Thoroughbred Daily News (JUSTIFIABLY SO = Fasig-Tipton US$375,000)
• Magic Millions catalogue (sale records for JUSTICE PREVAILS / WINDFALL / JUSTICE PLEASE)
• Breednet (Australian/overseas form for NEFERURE / AERIAL BAY / JUSTICE PLEASE / WINDFALL)
• Inglis Digital (sale and pedigree records for NEFERURE / AERIAL BAY; data by Arion Pedigrees)