Into Mischief has three shots at history in Kentucky Derby

Into Mischief keeps finding higher bars for himself to clear. The two-time reigning leading sire established a single-season earnings record in 2020, led by his first Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. The stallion will now have multiple chances to sire an unprecedented second consecutive Derby winner.

Into Mischief, who stands at B. Wayne Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky., is expected to be represented in the May 1 Derby by Mandaloun, Highly Motivated, and Soup and Sandwich. Any one of the three would make Into Mischief the first stallion to sire consecutive winners in the race’s 147-year history. Two stallions in recorded history have recorded two Derby wins in three years. The Finn sired Zev (1923) and Flying Ebony (1925). More than a half-century later, Exclusive Native was represented by Triple Crown winner Affirmed (1978), followed two years later by the filly Genuine Risk (1980).

“With the three, I joked the other day, just box the three Into Mischiefs and let them run,” said Mark Toothaker, Spendthrift’s stallion sales manager. “You can make a case for all of them. For [the double] to be able to happen, it would just be incredible.”

All three of Into Mischief’s Kentucky Derby probables are homebreds from prominent programs, illustrating the support the stallion has gotten in recent years. Mandaloun, winner of the Risen Star Stakes before finishing a puzzling sixth in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in his most recent outing, hails from Juddmonte Farms. The colt is out of the Group 2-winning Empire Maker mare Brooch, from a deep European family. Brooch was injured before she had a chance to run on dirt, but Garrett O’Rourke, manager for Juddmonte’s U.S. operations, felt Into Mischief was a good match to bring out the mare’s potential on the surface.

“I always had the feeling she looked like a dirt Empire Maker, and I was very excited about bringing her over here and maybe giving her a try on the dirt,” O’Rourke said. “Unfortunately, we never did get that far, but she obviously produced Mandaloun first off. And you’ve got Into Mischief on top. . . . I have a feeling that he’s exactly what you want in a classic dirt horse.”

Klaravich Stable’s homebred Into Mischief colt Highly Motivated was second by a neck to unbeaten champion and Kentucky Derby favorite Essential Quality in the Blue Grass Stakes. Rounding out the leading sire’s trio is Florida Derby runner-up Soup and Sandwich, who runs as a homebred for Live Oak Stud.

Meanwhile, some eight months removed from his Kentucky Derby victory in September 2020, Toothaker said that Authentic has settled well into his career at stud alongside Into Mischief at Spendthrift. The colt, who also added the Breeders’ Cup Classic to secure Horse of the Year honors, was 2021’s most expensive incoming stallion in North America, standing for an advertised fee of $75,000.

“We couldn’t be any happier,” Toothaker said. “He got a great book of mares. He’s gonna get a big, big chance.”