Pollara sells for $975,000 to top first Book 2 session and Keeneland November sale

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The $975,000 mare Pollara led the way as the Keeneland November breeding stock sale opened its Book 2 portion with continued restraint at the upper end of the market.

Keeneland reported 197 horses sold for gross receipts of $27,690,000 in Tuesday's session, the first of two in Book 2, and the second of 10 in the sale overall. In the comparable opening session of Book 2 in 2019, 227 horses sold for revenues of $35,443,000.

The year-to-year, session-to-session average price dipped downward 10 percent, to $140,558 from $156,137. The median was down 20 percent, to $100,000 from $125,000. These changes in figures were similar to the results seen during Monday's single-session Book 1.

The buyback rate for the session was 30 percent, as opposed to 24 percent in the comparable session in 2019. The year-to-year buyback rate had been unchanged for Book 1.

Pollara was sold to bloodstock agent Arthur Hoyeau from the consignment of Claiborne Farm, as agent, to lead the session. The Irish-born Camelot mare won the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont in France before coming to the United States. She sold carrying her first foal, to the cover of prominent international sire War Front, who stands at Claiborne.

“She’s such a nice mare, a group winner in France and in foal to the right horse,” Claiborne president Walker Hancock said. “Every single mare in the family is in foal to a world-leading sire. It’s a very active family, and they’ve all been bred to the best sires in the world. There are tons of upside to the family. When you have a page like that, a race record like that, and in foal to the right sire, the sky’s the limit.”

Pollara is out of the winning Storm Cat mare Brooklyn's Storm, making her a half-sister to stakes winner Stormina, the dam of Group 1 winner Silasol. Another half-sister, Shining Force, produced stakes winner Vulcan. Brooklyn's Storm is a half-sister to Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Solemia, as well as to Group 2 winner Prospect Wells, Group 3 winner Prospect Park, and three other stakes winners. This also is the family of multiple Group 1 winner The Gurkha.

A $475,000 colt from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify was the session's most expensive weanling, selling to M.V. Magnier of Coolmore, which stands his sire. This was the second consecutive day that Justify had a top-priced weanling at Keeneland; a $600,000 colt by him tied with a colt by fellow Triple Crown winner and Coolmore sire American Pharoah for the lead in the single-session Book 1.

“He’s a beautiful-looking horse, and Justify is making very good foals,” Coolmore’s David Wachman said. “We’re just excited to be able to buy a very nice horse by him. Across the board, they’re very good, and he’s a very smart horse, that horse. We’re happy to have him.”

The colt, who was consigned by Nursery Place, as agent, is the first foal out of the Grade 3-placed High Chaparral mare Inchargeofme. She is a full sister to Group 1-placed Johann Strauss and a half-sister to Group 1-placed Mythical. Grade 1 winner and Canadian champion Miss Keller appears on the catalog page.

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