Not This Time chasing Into Mischief in sire rankings

Not This Time was already having a career season when he put together a Keeneland fall meet that vaulted him into the history books. A solid second on North America’s general leading sires list, he will look to close the gap on six-time reigning leader Into Mischief at the Breeders’ Cup, where several of his Keeneland stars are among his eight entrants over the event’s two days.

Grade 3 winner Not This Time, an Albaugh Family Stables homebred who stands at Taylor Made Farm, swept the trifecta in the Grade 2 Jessamine on opening day of the Keeneland fall meet, then bookended the stand by sweeping the superfecta in the Grade 3 Bryan Station on closing day. Only five stallions have swept the trifecta in a graded stakes race in North America since 2000, and Not This Time is the only stallion to do so twice in that span.

In between, Not This Time sired the winner of the meet’s richest race with Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile winner Rhetorical, then took the Grade 2 Bourbon with Final Score, Grade 2 Franklin with Time to Dazzle, and the Indian Summer with Schwarzenegger.

“I’ve never seen a horse any hotter than this one,” said Frank Taylor, director of new business development for the Taylor Made operation. “He’s unbelievable.”

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Entering Tuesday, Spendthrift Farm’s Into Mischief, who holds the single-season earnings record for a North American sire, was in his customary position atop the sire list. His 196 winners from 437 starters on the year include 23 individual stakes winners, led by dual classic winner Sovereignty. His earnings for the season sat at $27,155,333.

Not This Time is next on the list with earnings of $20,176,739. His 22 stakes winners lead 140 victors from 280 starters. In third is Three Chimneys Farm resident Gun Runner with $15,823,410 in earnings. He has 133 winners, including 18 stakes winners from 272 starters.

The Breeders’ Cup, with its rich array of races, could be crucial in closing the gap toward yard-end standings. Not This Time has his Jessamine trio of Imaginationthelady, Infinite Sky, and Time to Dream in the Juvenile Fillies Turf; Cy Fair joining Schwarzenegger in the Juvenile Turf Sprint; and Blackout Time in the Juvenile on Friday. On Saturday, his Grade 1 winner Rhetorical goes in the Mile, and Goal Oriented is entered in the Dirt Mile.

While morning-line favorite Sovereignty has been withdrawn from the Breeders’ Cup Classic following an ill-timed fever. Into Mischief is still represented in the field by longshot Contrary Thinking, entered as a pacemaker for Gun Runner’s defending race winner Sierra Leone. Into Mischief is also represented in the Breeders’ Cup by Juvenile favorite Ted Noffey, as well as Tommy Jo (Juvenile Fillies), Bring Theband Home (Turf Sprint), American Stage (Sprint), and Citizen Bull (Dirt Mile).

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