If Caspar Fownes was trying to keep a lid on his expectations surrounding exciting debutant Justifying, then his three-year-old didn’t do anything to help him when he blazed a trail down the Sha Tin straight on Sunday.
Justifying lined up for his first start as the warm $2.6 favourite on the back of an impressive trial win in Australia and a pair of dominant trial performances in Hong Kong.
But that skinny quote was left looking like a spot of value when Justifying raced clear of his 13 rivals under Luke Ferraris to record the fastest time down Sha Tin’s 1000m straight this term.
Smashed 'em! 🔥
— HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 2, 2025
Justify gelding Justifying wins comfortably on debut at Sha Tin with @LukeFerraris and Caspar Fownes… #LoveRacing | #HKracing pic.twitter.com/Osvhnp29u8
“He’s a really nice horse and I promise you, time will be his friend,” Fownes told Idol Horse after the impressive success.
While Justifying was handed the tricky task of crossing the field from barrier four to lead along the rail, the gelding responded to Ferraris’ early pressure and hit the front 800m from home.
After reaching the rail soon after, Justifying never saw another rival and kept on strongly before Ferraris eased him down in the closing stages. He stopped the clock in 55.67 seconds.
For context, the two Group 3 contests over 1000m at Sha Tin this season were won by Beauty Waves in 55.72 seconds and Howdeepisyourlove in 56.16 seconds. That pair of gallopers are among the best in Hong Kong’s sprinting ranks and currently hold ratings of 102 and 116, respectively.
“He’s a pretty straightforward horse, he’s shown a lot of speed and he’s quite exciting,” Fownes said. “He’s got a great shoulder, great hindquarter and he’s light in between that. He’s sitting at 1060 (pounds) and when he gets to 1100-plus, I think we’ve got something to work with.”
The Private Purchase Griffin (PPG) arrived in Hong Kong after his exciting early speed caught the attention of form analyst and good friend of Fownes, Josh McLoughlan.
While he was unsold as a two-year-old for not reaching A$100,000 at the 2023 Inglis Ready2Race Sale, Justifying dominated a 1000m barrier trial for trainer Vincent Nolan in Australia in April last year and led to McLoughlan reaching out to Fownes.
“A good friend of mine does a lot of trial form and jumpouts and he was on to him straight away,” Fownes said. “He’s a very good judge and he suggested we should have a look at him. I did and immediately said, ‘yeah, I love it’.
“I gave him two trials and usually I’d give them more, but he looked like he was ready to go to the races.
“It’s always nice when they can come and win first-up in Hong Kong. He’ll get a penalty for that and we hope he can improve through the season.”
Justifying was whacked with an 11-pound rise from the Jockey Club’s handicappers on Monday, taking him into Class Three level on a mark of 63.
It is worth noting that Fownes did put on a tongue tie first-up to help “give him a little bit of help” and says “he’d be a horse that I’d be concentrating on more for next season”.
So while we may only see Justifying on the track a few times this term, he may well turn into a sprinter to be reckoned with next season.
Future Outlook: Whether Justifying can handle Sha Tin’s bend remains to be seen, but he looks to have all the raw ability to fly up to a triple-figure rating ∎
