Into Mischief off to strong start in search of fifth straight sire title
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At the halfway point of this season, record-setting Into Mischief is again leading the North American sire standings, chasing a fifth consecutive general sire title. Meanwhile, behind him, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and two-time Horse of the Year Curlin lead a tight pack of accomplished stallions fighting for the other placings as they fashion fine seasons.
Into Mischief, the flagship stallion for Spendthrift Farm, has worldwide progeny earnings of $13,591,163 through July 2, according to Daily Racing Form statistics. That puts him slightly behind pace toward his own single-season earnings record of $28,558,853 from 2022 – a record he broke for the third consecutive year after establishing previous high-water marks in 2020 and 2021. However, with plenty of major events, including November’s Breeders’ Cup, still to come, the mark would not be out of reach.
Following Into Mischief on DRF’s earnings list, the next five stallions are separated by less than $500,000. Those are American Pharoah (standing at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud) with $8,447,026, Curlin (Hill ‘n’ Dale) with $8,418,923, Uncle Mo (Ashford) with $8,358,303, Quality Road (Lane’s End) with $8,143,117, and Gun Runner (Three Chimneys) with $7,976,981.
Into Mischief, who entered stud in 2009 – with Curlin in that same class, and Quality Road following in 2011 as the next most-experienced stallion in this group – has sheer numbers on his side. He has 137 winners from 342 runners this far this season; the next-most runners among the top six is 224 for Uncle Mo. However, there is quality along with the quantity. Into Mischief also leads the nation by stakes winners with 16, to 11 for Quality Road and 10 for Uncle Mo.
Into Mischief’s stakes horses are led by Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, who followed up with another Grade 1 in the Acorn Stakes. Into Mischief also is the sire of Grade 1 winners Atone, Doppelganger, and Played Hard in the first half of this season.
As a further mark of his quality, Into Mischief is a leader on Daily Racing Form’s Beyer Sire Performance Standings. He has 29 individuals who have earned benchmark Beyer Speed Figures of 90 of above, to 22 for Curlin. Going a step beyond, Into Mischief has seven runners to earn triple-digit Beyers, to five each for Curlin and Tapit (Gainesway).
Into Mischief is chasing a fifth straight North American sire title, and would be the first stallion in more than a half-century to earn that many. The great Nasrullah was a five-time leading sire, in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, and 1962. His son Bold Ruler was even more dominant, leading the list seven straight years, from 1963-69, and claiming an eighth title in 1973, the year his son Secretariat dominated the Triple Crown.
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah has established himself as a multi-surface international sire. While his first Grade 1 winner in the United States this season is Marketsegmentation on turf, he also is the sire of graded stakes winners on dirt in the United States this season and has stakes winners in Australia, France, and Japan. His chief earner this year is Japanese-based Cafe Pharoah, winner of the 2021 and 2022 Grade 1 February Stakes on dirt, and third in this year’s Saudi Cup, the world’s richest race.
Curlin is fashioning a strong season, with the popular Cody’s Wish winning a pair of Grade 1 races to start the year, including the prestigious Metropolitan Handicap, and Clairiere winning back-to-back Grade 1 events to take control of her division. Curlin’s son Elite Power, the 2022 Eclipse Award champion male sprinter, has won both his starts this year.
Curlin also is enjoying a breakout run as a sire of sires. Good Magic, sire of Mage, became the second son of Curlin to sire the Kentucky Derby winner in his first crop, while Vino Rosso is a close second on the freshman sire earnings list after becoming the first member of the group to sire a stakes winner.
Following Uncle Mo, Quality Road, and Gun Runner to round out the top 10 on the general earnings list are Medaglia d’Oro (Darley), Tonalist (Lane’s End), Not This Time (Taylor Made), and Munnings (Ashford).
Freshman list update
Eclipse champions and Spendthrift stablemates Mitole and Vino Rosso are the leading freshman sires by earnings through July 2.
Although the year is at the halfway point for established sires, 2-year-old racing began in early April. Thus, for juvenile and freshman sire statistics, the season is only at the one-third point. And at this point, Mitole, the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and divisional champion, is the sire of two winners, including stakes-placed V V’s Dream, from 15 starters for earnings of $247,676.
Champion Vino Rosso, the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, has three winners from nine starters for $222,564 in earnings. Those include The Wine Steward, winner of the Bashford Manor last Sunday at Ellis Park.
Vino Rosso is one of four freshmen with three winners each, along with Copper Bullet (Darby Dan), Omaha Beach (Spendthrift), and Maximus Mischief (Spendthrift).
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