Farms were already eager to place their mares in foal to leading second-crop stallion Justify into sales season after he showed four grade 1 winners on his resume heading into the fall. When Justify's Just F Y I and Hard to Justify claimed a pair of Breeders' Cup races on Future Stars Friday Nov. 3, an unprecedented feat for a second-crop sire, consignors could only rub their hands in anticipation of the upcoming Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
Into the first two days of selling, 12 mares in foal to the 2018 Triple Crown winner sold for an average of $394,583 ahead of the second session of Book 2 Nov. 10. The highest-priced mare so far, Perotan (Hip 91), changed hands for $675,000 to Ecurie des Monceaux during Wednesday's Book 1 session.
"(Justify is) off to an extremely impressive start," said Martin Keogh, general manager of Stoneriggs Farm. "I don't know if any of us thought they were going to be as early and precocious as they've been."
Stoneriggs has one of two mares in foal to Justify entered in Friday's session, Five Prizes. Consigned as Hip 673, the young mare, carrying her first foal, was cataloged specifically because she was in utero to the Ashford Stud stallion.
"That's why we entered her in the sale," Keogh said. "She's a Bernardini mare in foal to a very hot sire right now. Physically, she's just a big, pretty mare who moves very well."
Although winless on the track, Five Prizes boasts a solid female family. Produced from the More Than Ready mare Orabella, who hails from the family of grade 1 winner R Heat Lightning, she is a half sibling to the stakes-winning, graded stakes-placed Violence gelding Louder Than Bombs.
Five Prizes' sire has become an invaluable broodmare sire in recent years. As of Nov. 9, daughters of the late Bernardini have produced a combined 73 stakes winners. This year, he is represented by grade 1 winners Clairiere and Matareya through his daughters Cavorting and Innovative Idea.
"Bernardini is a phenomenal broodmare sire," Keogh said. "I think we all wish we had 12 of the right kind of Bernardini mares. And obviously we're not going to give this mare away. We'd love to keep her for ourselves but if we can capitalize on who she's in foal to at the moment."
The other mare in foal to Justify being sold Friday is the stakes producer Black Valentine. The 14-year-old daughter of Cindago is being consigned by Mulholland Springs.
A California homebred for prominent owners Lee and Susan Searing of C R K Stable, Black Valentine was unraced herself but went on to produce four winners from five foals to race. Her daughter Roo's Valentine (Vronsky), offered later in the sale as Hip 2499 by Mulholland Springs, was a state-bred stakes winner of $302,193. Additionally, Black Valentine foaled the stakes-placed Vronsky gelding Dr. Troutman and the Candy Ride mare Sweetest Angel. Mulholland Springs will also send the latter, third in the 2021 Senorita Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park, through the ring on Friday as Hip 910.
Black Valentine is a half sister to the dual-surface, grade 1-winning millionaire Evening Jewel (Northern Afleet) and Japanese stakes winner Deep Jewelry.
