us stallions
MISCHIEF ruled again, but the pack is coming By Melissa Bauer-Herzog
Gun Runner and Curlin had good years, but 2023 saw Justify come of age with his second crop and the son of Scat Daddy could have champion two-year-olds on both sides of the Atlantic
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ITH BREEDERS’ CUP weekend firmly in the rearview mirror, the racing season in the US is close to being wrapped up and for the fifth straight year, Into Mischief is all but guaranteed another champion sires’ title. The only stallion with progeny earnings of over $20 million in the US in 2023, he won’t reach his record-breaking mark of $28,106,800 of 2022 but he continues to set the pace for all stallions in the country.
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While it wasn’t a typical year for Into Mischief, who didn’t have a Breeders’ Cup winner for the first time since 2018, his “under par performance” proved to be enough for him to have a large lead in all but two of the stakes categories for leading sires, as well. As of November 5, he led all stallions with 25 stakes winners, 48 stakes performers, 14 graded stakes winners, and 28 graded stakes performers. While he had a large lead in many of those stakes categories, he tied with Gun Runner’s
11 Grade 1 performers at the top of that list. Gun Runner again continues to impress with the three crops of racing age he has had so far, and he not only leads his generational sires’ table but also is amongst the best on the general sires’ list in many categories. Sitting third by earnings after Breeders’ Cup weekend, Gun Runner registered another year with multiple Grade 1 winners, three of those showed off the sire’s versatility. His juvenile Locked won the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity, and though both Echo
