A year after Horse of the Year Gun Runner shattered the North American earnings record for a freshman sire, Three Chimneys Farm has another young stallion poised to make a run at this year’s freshman accolades. Sharp Azteca, who stands at the Midway, Ky., facility, was represented by two first-crop stakes winners on Saturday, both of whom posted efforts that rank among the best Beyer Speed Figures this year for 2-year-olds.

Sir for Sure

Sligo Bay – Serena’s Rose, by My Way Only

Bred in Ontario by Norse Ridge Farms

Sir for Sure, two-length upset winner of the Plate Trial last Sunday at Woodbine, has plenty of connections, both via his equine relatives and his human connections, to Lexie Lou, winner of the 2014 Queen’s Plate and other major events.

Horse of the Year Gun Runner continued the white-hot start to his stud career by sweeping the exacta in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth, with Cyberknife edging Taiba by a head.

Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin enjoyed an outstanding weekend at Saratoga as he continues to climb the sire ranks.

His daughter Nest turned a showdown for the lead of the 3-year-old filly division into a runaway, winning the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks by 12 1/4 lengths on Saturday. A day later, in a highly anticipated matchup of Curlin’s daughters, Clairiere defeated Eclipse Award champion Malathaat to win the Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes.

Moira

Ghostzapper – Devine Aida, by Unbridled’s Song

Bred in Ontario by Adena Springs ($150,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by X-Men Racing)

If Moira runs well in the Woodbine Oaks on Sunday she will likely try to become the third Queen’s Plate winner for her sire, Ghostzapper, a homebred and leading sire for the Adena Springs operation.

The death of Eclipse Award champion and perennial leading turf sire Kitten’s Joy last week widens the void atop the North American turf sire ranks, which lost fellow champion English Channel last fall.

Eclipse Award champion turf horse Kitten's Joy, who went on to become a leading sire, has died, co-owner Ramsey Farm announced on July 15. The son of El Prado was 21

The Minkster

English Channel – Cabriole, by Flatter

Bred in Ontario by Dr. Dan Hyka ($39,853 Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society Ontario division yearling purchase by Ray Burke Sea Glass)

The Minkster, unbeaten winner of the Coronation Futurity and Queenston Stakes, is looking to add to the legacy of late leading sire English Channel, with whom trainer Danny Vella has a history. Vella trained another son of English Channel, Strait of Dover, to win the 2012 Queen’s Plate.

Into Mischief, the nation’s three-time reigning leading sire, added another stakes winner to his 2022 tally on Saturday, as Gerrymander was a three-length victor in the historic Grade 2 Mother Goose at Belmont. With Into Mischief’s chief earner thus far this season, Life Is Good, poised to return to the races, and plenty of prospects revving up for summer and fall racing, the stallion is poised to make a run at additional sire accolades, vying with standout Quality Road.

Triple Crown winner Justify became the first North American freshman sire of the season to register a graded/group stakes winner, as his unbeaten daughter Statuette won the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes at The Curragh.