Scat Daddy's Legacy Lends Insight to Justify Matings

Reviewing mares and sire lines likely to succeed with latest Triple Crown winner


The trail blazed by the late Scat Daddy as a sire might provide breeders with a clearer path toward success for his 2018 Triple Crown-winning son Justify , who will enter stud next year at Ashford Stud.

"Scat Daddy trumped every assumption made about him," said Adrian Wallace with stallion nominations sales at Ashford. 


A son of the brilliantly fast Johannesburg, the 2001 champion 2-year-old male in the United States and Europe, Scat Daddy also excelled at 2 and went on to win the 2007 Florida Derby (G1). Scat Daddy's full potential as a racehorse was never realized because of a tendon injury suffered during an unplaced effort in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1). As Scat Daddy entered stud for an introductory fee of $30,000, the expectations surrounding him were muted, because Johannesburg had produced modest results.

"The Scat Daddys tended to be early, like Lady Aurelia, Acapulco, and No Nay Never, but then they excelled on turf, so one of the criticism was that he wasn't a dirt sire," Wallace said. "Then he comes along and gets a Triple Crown winner. Really, as a sire, he did it the hard way and proved himself."

Scat Daddy's runners were remarkably versatile, with 37% of foals of racing age winning on dirt and 34% on turf. Among his 108 black-type winners to date, 47 (4%) won on dirt and 72 (6%) won on turf, with several runners, such as grade 1 winner Mendelssohn , succeeding on both surfaces.

Wallace said the versatility of Scat Daddy runners is reflected in the variety of broodmare sire lines with which he's been successful in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

One particularly successful pattern with Scat Daddy has been with returns to Mr. Prospector, who is Scat Daddy's broodmare sire. This inbreeding (5x3x4) produced multiple champion Dacita, who is out of a mare by Seeker's Reward (a Mr. Prospector grandson through Gone West) and group 1 winner and 2018 freshman sire No Nay Never (5x3x4), who is out of a mare by Elusive Quality (also a son of Gone West). No Nay Never got off to a fast start this year with six black-type winners, which included group 1 winner Ten Sovereigns. 

Inbreeding to Mr. Prospector also can be found in group 2 winner Acapulco (5x3x4x5), who is out of an End Sweep mare, and in group 1 winner Skitter Scatter (5x3x4), who is out of a Street Cry mare. End Sweep and Street Cry are Mr. Prospector grandsons through Forty Niner and Machiavellian, respectively.

California Chrome
Scat Daddy also has found success with mares by Holy Bull (38% black-type winners from foals), Tapit  (33%), Belong to Me (33%), and Ghostzapper  (29%).

"So now you look at Justify. He is going to be a fairly easy horse to breed to," Wallace said. "You would have to imagine he is going to suit mares by War Front  and the other Danzig lines. Storm Cat is back in the fourth generation, so that allows some scope to inbreed to the Storm Cat line, and Justify is out of a Ghostzapper mare, so Northern Dancer is far enough back as well."

As for physique, Wallace said he sees Justify suiting a wide range of mares.

"At 16.3 (hands) and a bit, he's a big horse, but when you watch him move, he is light on his feet. He is not a heavy, cumbersome horse," Wallace said. "I think he'll put size into a mare that needs it. He'll put stretch into a mare that is a bit short-coupled. I think he'll put the quality into one that is a bit plain—tidy her up a bit. Really, he is the complete package."

An intangible Justify seems to have inherited from Scat Daddy is his adaptable and competitive attitude, according to Wallace, who noted the young stallion was unflappable while more than 400 people passed through Ashford's recent stallion open house.

"The ones that have a good mind and don't fret about things have something different," Wallace said. "You could see that in how he handled what he handled at the track in a relatively short period of time. He was relaxed. He didn't fret and trusted who he was around."

Justify didn't make his first start until Feb. 18, when he won by 9 1/2 lengths. He then rolled undefeated through the Triple Crown in 112 days. 

"I had a conversation the other day with David O'Loughlin, our director of sales in Ireland, about the attributes of the Galileos," said Wallace. "One of their great attributes is their willingness to—every single time—give 120%. Every time (trainer) Aidan (O'Brien) works one of them, they put it all in. There is no backing off. They trust the riders, they trust the process, and they run as hard as they can for as long as they're asked. You see that in the Scat Daddys as well. They are tough, well-made horses. 

"If Scat Daddy's legacy is any indication, then No Nay Never and Justify are the ones to carry that on."