Spend wisely

Exciting times at Spendthrift with five classy new stallions joining the farm’s talented roster, writes Melissa Bauer-Herzog

WHEN SPENDTHRIFT FARM rang in 2020, the team had more than usual to be excited about. The farm’s foundation sire Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday) had notched up his first leading sires’ title in 2019 and, looking ahead, the farm has five new stallions to launch for 2020.

Into Mischief stood his first season in 2009 for a fee of $12,500 before dropping to $7,500, but the son of Harlan’s Holiday has become the poster boy for Spendthrift Farm’s Share The Upside programme, as an original member of the industry-changing concept.

Spendthrift’s general manager Ned Toffey, who has been with the farm since Into Mischief retired, always believed after seeing the stallion’s early success that a title would come eventually, but is still excited to see the stallion rewarded.

“You think of all the great sires through the years that have had leading sire title by their name so it’s just an honour,” says Toffey.

It’s a credit to all the breeders who have supported Into Mischief and he is just a remarkable horse, but none of this happens without our breeders.

“We’ve very appreciative to them for all their efforts in getting him there, this is very much the breeders’ honour as much as anything else.

“He’s a remarkable horse and, with the patronage of our breeders, it’s something that felt like it was going to happen sooner or later. Now it has, we couldn’t be happier about it.”

Just as exciting for the farm is the addition of another son of Into Mischief to the roster with his Grade 2-winning two-year-old Maximus Mischief joining the fold as a “Share The Upside” stallion.

He joins Into Mischief’s 2019 champion second-crop son Goldencents who has already proved that his sire has the potential to become a sire of sires.

“Maximus Mischief is just a horse that people were really excited about because he was such a talented two-year-old and as a son of Into Mischief, he booked up very quickly,” reports Toffey.

“He was Into Mischief’s fastest two-year-old, he was a big beautiful horse who had a tremendous ability at two but who just ran into some issues. “Into Mischief is showing that he can be a sire of sires and we’re very excited about what this horse can be and he’s one that breeders can take advantage of on the Share The Upside.”

Maximus Mischief is just one new stallion popular with breeders on the roster, and he is joined by a duo of Breeders’ Cup winners, a leading three-year-old and a Godolphin Mile (G2) winner.

Vino Rosso won two Grade 1 races in 2019, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and is the spitting image of his sire Curlin.

But he was one of those talented horses born in the wrong generation and his considerable talents were often overshadowed by others.

Vino Rosso was bred from the same Glennwood Farm crop as the Triple Crown winner Justify, who overshadowed his threeyear-old successes. It looks as “Vino” may again lose out, this time to his new stud-mate Mitole (Eskendereya) for an Eclipse award.

But, even though he might miss the award, Toffey is excited for the stallion’s prospects, the farm having searched sometime for a son of Curlin whom they believed was good enough to stand at the farm.

Obviously Vino is a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner so what more needs to be said?” smiles Toffey.

As for that horse who may steal away that Eclipse Award honour, Mitole beat the best field assembled this year in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) and will certainly be named an Eclipse Award finalist for Horse of the Year, in addition to taking home champion sprinter honours.

“I think Mitole has to be considered a very legitimate case for Horse of the Year,” says Toffey, before explaining: “He was one bad break at Saratoga short of being undefeated on the year. It’s a pretty long list of really good horses that he beat throughout the year either sprinting or stretching out to a mile.

“Mitole’s Met Mile was probably the best single field of any race assembled that year and he was a very impressive winner – right up on the pace and he asserted himself down the stretch. He’s a remarkable horse so he’s a very legitimate contender for Horse of the Year.”

It’s rare to have a horse on a farm roster capable of eclipsing the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, let alone eclipsing both recent Breeders’ Cup winners, but that is exactly what Omaha Beach will do when he arrives on the farm after the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1).

The colt was heading for Kentucky Derby (G1) favouritism in 2019 before being scratched from the race only days before loading into the gate.

One of the most highly regarded threeyear-olds in the nation, Omaha Beach has three Grade 1 victories on his CV, including the late-December Malibu Stakes and benefits from stallion updates on both sides of his family.

A HALF-BROTHER to the champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant’s Causeway), the freshman sire is by emerging sire-of-sires War Front, whose son Declaration Of War has had a banner year with his runners in 2019.

On the female side of Omaha Beach’s family, his dam’s half-brother Take Charge Indy (A.P. Indy) was repatriated to the US from South Korea this autumn after top performances by runners in his first three crops.

“Omaha Beach added another notch on his belt with a really impressive win in the Malibu where he just really toyed with the competition and it looked like a paid workout,” recalls Toffey.

“He’s just a tremendously talented horse, a son of War Front – an incredibly influential sire line all over the world – and he comes from the current pre-eminent American female family in Take Charge Lady. “He’s just as good a stallion prospect as you can imagine. He’ll run in the Pegasus and then come to Spendthrift and stand at stud. He’s a beautiful animal and we couldn’t be more excited to have him”.

The new sires on the roster are rounded out by Coal Front (Stay Thirsty).

A Share The Upside offering, Coal Front’s biggest moment came in the 2019 Godolphin Mile (G2) in which he beat Heavy Metal (Exceed And Excel) by three-quarters of a length.

Coal Front’s good-looks have persuaded breeders to book their mares to the son of Stay Thirsty.

“This is a horse whose single most impressive feature is his physical,” Toffey explains of the stallion’s popularity achieved once he came to Spendthrift.

“He’s just beautifully made, a spectacularlooking individual. He was tremendously talented and I know Todd Pletcher felt like this was the most talented two-year-old in his barn.

“He had a few setbacks that kept him from really putting together the kind of resume from a racing standpoint, but nevertheless, he was just a very talented racehorse who was never quite able to show what he could do. He is a gorgeous animal and beautifully bred.”

With a full roster of 22 stallions, most early in their careers, the future is looking bright for Spendthrift Farm.

While it would be easy to dwell on the heydays of decades gone past at the farm, Toffey is sure that the latest chapter in the Spendthrift stallion barn will be just as exciting as the past.

“We have a lot of very nice horses and we’re very excited about the future with a lot of our horses here, so fingers crossed and hopefully we’ll be talking about more of the same in years to come.”

Vino Rosso