Into Mischief breaking records... again

The outstanding sire has had another stellar year and is set to break his own prize-money record, writes Melissa Bauer-Herzog

WHILE MOST PEOPLE don’t want to re-live 2020, the team at Spendthrift Farm is more than happy in that its stalwart stallion Into Mischief has enjoyed a near-repeat of last year.

Few stallions can better a year in which they sired a Horse of the Year and broke the earnings record – but Into Mischief is one. As of November 7, the stallion was in striking distance of breaking his own 2020 record of $22,506,085 prize-money won in a season, a year which also saw him become the fastest North American stallion ever to sire 100 black-type winners.

The stallion also sired his sixth Breeders’ Cup winner when Life Is Good won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), while last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winner Gamine finished third in the same race this year.

One question still remains for Into Mischief, however – will he become the first stallion to sire two consecutive Kentucky Derby (G1) winners?

The stallion’s Grade 1 Haskell Stakeswinning son Mandaloun also finished second in the Kentucky Derby in May. The results still pending after the winner Medina Spirit came up with a positive drug test, but Into Mischief may join an elite group of 19 stallions to sire multiple Kentucky Derby winners, if his son is declared the winner.

One spot Into Mischief doesn’t control on the general sires’ list is most Grade 1 winners and performers of 2021 – that honour goes to Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm’s Curlin.

Curlin: turning things around in style

The two-time Horse of the Year got off to such slow start at stud that he only saw 54 mares in 2013 when his first crop was three, but Curlin’s story has changed dramatically.

In 2022, he’ll be standing for $175,000 on the back of this season that saw him sire 37 stakes performers as of November 7 with five Grade 1 winners.

Curlin is the sire of two of the best threeyear-old fillies in North America this year with three-time Grade 1 winner and likely champion Malathaat and Cotillion Stakes winner Clairiere. Those two topped off their season finishing third and fourth against their elders in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) only a few months after giving Curlin the exacta in the Alabama Stakes (G1).

Curlin’s three-year-olds are from his first crop conceived off a $150,000 stud fee and, giving a peek into the future, they also account for three of his five Grade 1 winners this year.

It’s almost guaranteed that breeders with A.P. Indy-line mares will be taking a close look at Curlin and his sons.

Three of Curlin’s five Grade 1 winners this year were out of mares by A.P. Indy and son Bernardini, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Of his 85 career stakes winners and 45 graded stakes winners, nine of the stakes winners are out of A.P. Indy mares and nine are out of A.P. Indy grand-daughters, who have also produced seven of his graded stakes winners.

Though it is a small sample with Curlin only having a few sire sons with racing age foals, they have also produced three stakes performers out of A.P. Indy granddaughters.

Continuing to Connect

If his first runners continue their success past his freshman year, Curlin’s first-crop sire Connect may prove to be the best of his sons in the shed. He is second only to Gun Runner in the freshman sires’ title race by earnings and is tied with Caravaggio at the top the leader board by number of winners. A Grade 1 winner himself, Connect has sired five stakes performers and two stakes winners in 2021, led by the Grade 1-winning Rattle N Roll. That colt proved that he is a tough runner in early October when he romped to a 4l victory in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) only two weeks after breaking his maiden in his third start.

He looked like a serious contender for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) before having to be scratched due to a suspected abscess just a week before the race.

Connect was represented in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) by his Grade 3 winner Hidden Connection, who finished fourth at Del Mar.

Connect, too, has already proven to have an affinity with the A.P. Indy line, but it is worth noting that two of his five stakes performers are out of Awesome Again mares, including Hidden Connection.

Connect is also proving to love the Storm Cat line – one of his stakes horses is out of a mare by a Storm Cat son and another out of a mare by a Storm Cat grandson.

Gunning for glory

Though it’s one of the strongest freshman crops seen in many years, Gun Runner has put together a no holds barred campaign with his first runners, and the Horse of the Year has already secured champion freshman sires’ honours by nearly every measure.

The sire of two Grade 1 winners and four graded stakes horses coming into November, Gun Runner held a nearly $2 million earnings lead after the Breeders’ Cup.

He also became the second straight freshman sire to have a champion in his first crop – his daughter Echo Zulu confirmed her superiority in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, while the stallion was also represented in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with runner-up Pappacap.

The stallion’s fee has more than doubled from $50,000 in 2021 to $125,000 and for good reason. His $3,521,956 in progeny earnings after Breeders’ Cup weekend is nearly $2 million more than any freshman sire end-of-year earnings since Uncle Mo ended his freshman season with earnings of $3,670,354 in 2015.

Gun Runner’s earnings are just $1 million shy of likely the champion second-season sire Not This Time.

Gun Runner: clear leading freshman sire with earnings nearly $2 million ahead of his nearest pursuer

Not This Time: the heir to the Giant

Not This Time is looking like the much-needed US heir apparent to the late Giant’s Causeway. His first starters hit the ground running in 2020 and haven’t looked back. The stallion is firing at nearly 11 per cent stakes winners and 58 per cent winners-to-runners. His first crop is responsible for all three of his graded stakes winners, led by last year’s Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner Princess Noor, but five of his stakes winners are from his juvenile crop.

Not This Time is one of two second crop Giant’s Causeway sons in the top five by earnings with Protonico, the sire of Kentucky Derby (G1) and Awesome Again (G1) winner Medina Spirit from only 17 runners in 2021. That colt accounts the majority of Protonico’s progeny earnings.

Uncle Mo becoming a noted sire of sires

Last year’s champion freshman sire Nyquist (Uncle Mo) sits in second just behind Not This Time by earnings and has the most stakes performers of any second-season sire with 17.

Through 2021 to early November, the stallion had not registered a 2021 graded stakes winner, but he did have five stakes winners and seven graded stakes performers, led by two Grade 1-placed runners.

Hailed as an emerging sire-of-sires last year, Uncle Mo continues to build that title in 2021. Led by Nyquist, he has three sons in the top 10 among second-season sires by earnings and with Uncle Lino in 17th.

Standing for $4,000 in Maryland, Uncle Lino is registering 60 per cent winners from runners this year led by three stakes performers.

Uncle Mo himself is having another productive season on the track.

His three-year-old son Golden Pal equalled the Del Mar track record in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) and Yaupon won the Forego Stakes (G1) to lead his 11 stakes winners and 24 stakes horses in 2021.

Yaupon is retiring to Spendthrift Farm for 2022, while Coolmore has said, if he doesn’t retire, the Royal Ascot meeting could again be on Golden Pal’s agenda in 2022.