Illegal Justice caps stunning Guineas hat-trick

By Jordan Gerrans

Bang, bang and bang once again. 

That is exactly how Illegal Justice’s Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival campaign panned out across the three Guineas races he contested.

The John Dann-prepared gelding could not have been much more impressive in his hat-trick of victories up the Queensland coast, which started in Rockhampton and rolled through to Mackay before again lobbing in Townsville.

The Toowoomba conditioner has opted not to press on for a fourth Guineas tilt in Cairns later this month and will instead head south and give the homebred a well-deserved break.

Hoop Dylan Turner piloted Illegal Justice in all three of his Guineas romps, as he won by more than a length-and-a-half on each occasion.

The 65-year-old Dann originally took Illegal Justice north as a travelling companion for Cups contender Quothquan and is delighted with the decision.

“He's always shown us that he's got that ability,” Dann said.

“With the other horse going up there for the Cups, there wasn't a real lot around for him down here in the South East corner.

“So, I thought, we'll chuck him on the float for a travelling partner for the other horse. A bit of travelling and racing when they're young always helps them.

“He always had the ability to win these sorts of races.

“People are getting a bit carried away with how well he won some of the races.

“I don't mean to disrespect the opposition, but I don't think they were strong the horses that he was beating.”

The dominance shown by Illegal Justice through the Guineas races of the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival has not been seen in recent years.

With just six career starts to his name, Illegal Justice has quickly boosted his career prizemoney to nearly $200,000 following his trio of Magic Millions Guineas romps.

The son of Under The Louvre’s most recent triumph at Cluden Park in Townsville was arguably his most stylish of his northern campaign.

Starting at $1.24, Illegal Justice carried 60.5kg to score by almost two lengths.

Darling Downs mentor Dann notes the Mackay win was also striking.

“His last run was probably okay at Townsville,” Dann said.

“The horse he beat in Mackay, Exodas, was pretty good because that horse had won six straight on that Mackay track.

“In Mackay, the way he had the outside alley, Dylan had to ride a bit upside down, but his win in Mackay was pretty good.

“We thought we'd press on to Townsville because that race was there, but Exodas was scratched from the Townsville race.”

The emerging career of Illegal Justice is a satisfying one for Dann as he prepared his mother Rosador.

The bay mare won just twice in 37 career appearances, but did place on 16 occasions.

The Kenmore Lodge graduate is raced by Dann himself alongside a big crew of Queensland-based owners.

Illegal Justice broke his maiden status in the city before heading north.

With four career victories to his name from just six attempts, Dann isn’t setting the bar too high when it comes to his future assignments, declaring he will reassess the galloper's plans following his upcoming spell.

“He's still got a fair bit of maturing and that to do,” he said.

“He's got to grow up a bit more and mature a bit more, so we'll get him back in.

“There might be something in the back end of the summer carnival around or there'll be a nice race here in March at the Gold Coast around the QTIS sales time.

“So, there might be a race there we can target with him. I think there's a 1400 metre race or I think there's an 1800 metre race there that could suit him.

“He'll run 1800 metres, you'd think 1800 and 2000 metres, that's probably going to be his best distance, I think.”

Quothquan, who won the 2025 Townsville Cup, failed to finish the 2026 edition of the feature event after suffering an injury in the run.

Jockey Turner eased Quothquan out of the race.

Toowoomba trainer Dann does not think the seven-year-old will race again, but the stable is still working through the processes.

“He is staying up with Bill Kenning at Townsville,” Dann said.

“Bill said he's a little bit sore on it, but he can put weight on it. I think he'll be OK, but I don't think he'll race again, but at least we can get him home.

“He was standing there with weight on his foot. He could put weight on it, so that's a good sign he wasn't up on his toes. I think he might have a fracture.”