Scales Of Justice Bursts into Caulfield WFA Championship Contention

There is a three-way tie at the top of the New Zealand Bloodstock Caulfield WFA Championship table after Scales Of Justice (Not a Single Doubt) scored a superb win in Saturday’s A$1 million Group 1 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m).

Making his first start in the Series, Scales Of Justice earned 10 points to move to the top of the table alongside the Group 2 P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) winner Mystic Journey (Needs Further), who bypassed the Memsie.

Hartnell (Authorized), who earned 6 points for his third placing in the Lawrence, finished fourth on Saturday to earn another 4 points and also take a share of the lead.

The Scales Of Justice story has been a remarkable one, from the high of Group 1 victory in Perth’s Railway Stakes (1600m) in 2016 to the low of a long injury lay-off. It returned to a triumphant high in the Memsie.

Ridden by Dean Yendall, the seven-year-old gelding raced in fifth position before changing gears in the straight, surging past the front-running Begood Toya Mother (Myboycharlie) and taking control of the race.

Challenges came from So Si Bon (So You Think), Alizee (Sepoy) and Hartnell, but Scales Of Justice muscled his way to the finish line with a winning margin of three-quarters of a length.

“This horse’s nickname is Chopper, and he’s just a lovely horse to ride,” Yendall said. “He takes everything in his stride.

“I let him rip in the straight and he took off. They came at him late in the race, but he fought them off easily. Onwards and upwards from here.

“I don’t know what’s in store for him, but he’s shown before that he can run over a bit more distance, so maybe a Cox Plate (2040m) in late October.”

Raced by Mr C M Wells in partnership with W B Andrews Breeding & Racing, Scales Of Justice has now had 26 starts for 11 wins, 12 placings and more than A$2.1 million in prize-money.

“It’s great to get this win for the owners, and he’s a good horse,” trainer Lindsey Smith said. “He’s had a lot of people help him over the years, like the vets and the farriers. They’ve all done a remarkable job. I’m just the fortunate person to be here today.”

The remaining two races in the Series are the A$750,000 Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) on September 29 and the A$1 million Caulfield Stakes (2000m) on October 12.