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Justify × Proper Mad
2025 Justify × Proper Mad, Chestnut Colt. Foaled May 25, 2025.
Purchased for $150,000 at the 2026 Keeneland September Sale (Hip 1129).
Consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent. By Triple Crown winner Justify out of the Bernardini mare Proper Mad, dam of ten-time winner Carillo. Second dam Private Gift produced Grade 2 winner Private Mission, and the family includes Grade 1 Alabama and Beldame winner Dunbar Road. A late-May foal with an athletic frame and plenty of room to develop.
- Sire Justify
- Dam Proper Mad
- Color & Sex Chestnut Colt
- Trainer TBD
- Partnership Icon Racing: Sierra Leone
- Sale Catalog View Catalog Page →
Hip 1129 · Keeneland September
How we bought Justify × Proper Mad.
We stayed through the end of the session, and this colt was one of the reasons why. As the day wore on and buyers began to leave, the market softened. Hip 1129 offered a pedigree we did not expect to be available to us at this price: a Justify colt out of Proper Mad, consigned by Mill Ridge.
He is a May foal, so we expect to give him the time his maturity tells us he needs. That is not a negative in our program; it is simply part of the development plan. The attraction was the opportunity to buy a colt by an elite sire at $150,000 without having to compromise our physical or veterinary standards.
It also reinforced one of the lessons of the week: staying until the end matters. The room can change, the competition can thin out, and a horse that looked out of reach on paper can suddenly become a realistic purchase.
The Dam Side
Proper Mad is an unraced Bernardini mare, but her produce record already includes Carillo, a ten-time winner who has earned roughly $240,000. The second dam, Private Gift, was a stakes winner and has become an important producer.
Private Gift produced Grade II winner Private Mission and stakes winner Secret Someone. Even more importantly, another daughter produced Dunbar Road, winner of the Grade I Alabama and Grade I Beldame and a Breeders' Cup Distaff runner-up. The third dam, Private Status, extends the family into additional Grade I quality. Bernardini over this female family gives the Justify colt considerably more depth than his $150,000 price might suggest.
The Physical
The first thing to remember is the foaling date: May 25. He is one of the youngest horses in the book and understandably looks less mature through his body than the earlier foals. Even so, the frame is there. He has good length, an athletic shoulder and a strong enough hip to envision meaningful development.
He is not carrying the same body mass as the Vekoma or Omaha Beach colts, but that may be more maturity than type. The outline is balanced and there appears to be room for him to strengthen considerably once he has several months of development behind him.
This is the horse where patience may matter most. The sire is elite, the dam side includes Bernardini, Private Mission and Dunbar Road, and the individual has an athletic frame without looking physically finished. At $150,000, we were being paid to accept some developmental uncertainty in a late-May foal while retaining significant pedigree upside.
Physical comments are based on the sale photograph and are observations, not a substitute for live inspection or veterinary review.
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