Justify Colt Takes Home Second Stakes Win in Tale of the Cat

Justify’s Tom’s Magic (3c Justify x Dixie Chicken, by Rahy) visited the winner’s circle in the stakes named after his sire’s late stablemate Tale of the Cat at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

It was the second stakes victory for the Justify colt, who won the Black Gold Stakes earlier this year and was coming off a 2 ½ month break in this 1 1/6-mile turf race as the heavy favorite. Letting two horses go in front of him early, it wasn’t until the far turn that he made his move.

Happy to comply when Axel Concepcion asked him for a little more, he kicked away to win by 1 ½ lengths with American Pharoah’s Outrunner filling in the second spot.

This was the third win in five starts for the Michael Stidham trainee, who races for CJ Thoroughbreds and Mo Speed Racing. They purchased him at Keeneland September from breeders Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry.

Tom’s Magic is one of three stakes winners for the stakes placed Dixie Chicken, who produced five stakes performers overall from seven runners with the group including multiple stakes winner Dixie Moon. Each of Tom’s Magic’s first five dams produced stakes winners with his fourth dam the Venezuelan Horse of the Year Gelinotte.

This is the fourth stakes winner of June for Justify, who has sired six stakes winners in four countries in the past month.