9 minute read
The joy of six
Another year, an even better result... Into Mischief continues his dominance in the US sire ranks, wins his sixth consecutive title and breaks the earnings record, writes Melissa Bauer-Herzog
IF LOOKING AT THE LEADING SIRES’ TABLE in North America after the Breeders’ Cup many would be forgiven if they feel like they’re in the film Groundhog Day with Into Mischief leading the field for the sixth consecutive year.
Every year it is hard to believe Spendthrift’s stallion can top what he has done the year previously, but that’s exactly what he’s doing in 2024. Not only does he lead every category, but he is also the first stallion in history to break the $30 million in progeny earnings in a year.
As of November 8, his runners have won $32,432,583 in prize-money, shattering his own previous record of $28,106,000 set in 2022.
Those earnings were helped along by his son Laurel River winning the Dubai World Cup (G1) in March taking home $7.2 million.
However, 233 winners and 54 stakes horses overall definitely played a part as well and he is over $12 million ahead of the second-placed Gun Runner.
Into Mischief sits just two titles behind Bold Ruler who topped the general sires’ title eight times last century.
Into Mischief was blanked in the Breeders’ Cup in 2023, but that wasn’t the case in 2024 thanks to Citizen Bull.
Likely this year’s Eclipse champion two-year-old male, Citizen Bull backed up his American Pharoah Stakes (G1) victory with an easy win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).
While securing the most general sires’ titles is firmly in his sights, Into Mischief is also approaching a major milestone.
He is just some $15,015,437 behind Tapit when it comes to the all-time progeny earnings’ record.
Tapit is still active at stud with eight stakes winners of his own in 2024, so it is possible that Into Mischief could be held off another year, but he is on-course to blitz Tapit out of the way in 2025.
Gun is running
Gun Runner sits second by earnings to Into Mischief, but leads all North American stallions by percentage of Grade 1 performers with 2.9 per cent of his runners placing at the level this year.
Gun Runner has risen quickly to be one of the best sires in North America with just four crops of racing age and is shooting at a 6.83 per cent Grade 1 performers-to-runners overall.
The stallion is also at 3.11 per cent Grade 1 winners-to-runners cumulatively, though he’s striking at 1.66 per cent in 2024 with four Grade 1 winners – tying for the highest amount of Grade 1 winners he’s had in his four seasons.
Not surprisingly, Gun Runner leads virtually every category among North American fourth-crop sires in 2024.
The only lead he is missing is number of 2024 winners with Practical Joke’s 140 (as of November 8), which is 19 better than Gun Runner’s 121.
Justify in fourth but top on stakes percentage
Justify sits fourth by earnings in 2024, but the stallion leads all sires by percentage of stakes performers and graded stakes performers.
He has had 15 North American-bred stakes winners this year, and is striking at 17.45 per cent stakes performers and 10.64 per cent graded stakes performers from 235 runners.
Not surprisingly, his European superstar and new Coolmore recruit City Of Troy leads the way among his earners with $2,647,262 won in his five starts this year, but he’s far from the only successful Justify runner.
Justify has registered three Grade 1 victors in 2024 and, in a rare feat for a US-based stallion, none of those were in North America.
Just like 2023, Opera Singer and City Of Troy both gave their sire Group 1 wins and Opera Singer went on to win the Nassau Stakes (G1) in August.
His daughter Ramatuelle gave him a third Group 1 winner in 2024 when she won the Prix de la Foret (G1) in October.
France’s highest-rated juvenile last year, she was also the second highest-priced horse at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale when brought for $5.1 million by MV Magnier.
It was reported after the sale that both Ramatuelle and Opera Singer will visit Coolmore’s superstar sire Wootton Bassett.
Good Magic and Justify tie Grade 1 winners for third-crop sires
Justify also leads third-crop sires in every stakes category, though he is tied at the top by Grade 1 winners and graded stakes winners alongside Good Magic at five each.
For the second year in succession, Good Magic sired a Classic winner – his victory this year came via Dornoch’s success in the Belmont Stakes (G1).
That three-year-old, who joins the Spendthrift Farm roster in 2025, is a full-brother to Good Magic’s Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage, both out of Puca.
Good Magic is also the sire of this year’s Pacific Classic (G1) winner Mixto and Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Muth.
The stallion was also represented at the Grade 1 level in the juvenile ranks by his daughter Snowyte, who finished second in the Frizette Stakes (G1).
In all, Good Magic has five Grade 1 performers in 2024 with only three of his eight graded stakes performers not placing at the level.
Omaha Beach a solid second-crop sire
While he isn’t close to hitting Into Mischief levels yet, Spendthrift Farm’s Omaha Beach is making an impression of his own on the track.
The second-crop sire is another who leads all categories on his respective sires’ list with 10 stakes winners in 2024.
The stallion’s stakes winners are led by Natalma Stakes (G1) winner And One More Time, who gave her sire his first Grade 1 winner.
Out of a Blame mare, she’s bred on a cross that looks like it may be fruitful for her sire. From four runners out of Blame mares,
Omaha Beach has sired three winners with And One More Time joined by E J Won The Cup as stakes winners bred on the cross. E J Won The Cup is also a Grade 1-placed runner.
Into Mischief’s influence spreads far and wide and it is felt on the second-crop sires list with his son Audible sitting right behind his stud mate in multiple categories.
The stallion has also drawn even with Omaha Beach by number of graded stakes winners and graded stakes performers to tie for the lead in both categories.
Just like every second-crop sire other than Omaha Beach, Audible is still waiting on his first Grade 1 winner, though he does have one Grade 1-placed runner – one of only three second-crop sires with such an accolade.
Standing at WinStar Farm, Audible is the only non-Spendthrift stallion inside the top five by earnings among second-crop sires.
Spendthrift Farm’s Vino Rosso is also tied for the lead by number of graded stakes performers, while Mitole leads by winners in 2024. Maximum Mischief is the only stallion who doesn’t lead a category on the list, though he is tied for second by stakes winners with eight and sits third by stakes performers with 18.
Vekoma heads the freshman sires’ title
Spendthrift also has a strong hold on the freshman sires’ title thanks to Vekoma, who leads all freshmen by stakes performers and winners.
That Grade 1-winning son of Candy Ride has seen four of his runners win stakes and 11 earn black-type with 32 runners finding the winner’s circle.
Authentic, the stud’s Horse of the Year, has been slow to get off the mark with just one stakes winner, but the Into Mischief son is bringing in winners with 17 to his name.
That puts him two ahead of another stablemate in Thousand Words, who has 15 winners led by two stakes winners and four stakes performers.
Coolmore’s stallion Tiz The Law hit the ground running and that’s revealed in his numbers. The sire of 18 winners, the stallion had a Breeders’ Cup runner in Scythian, who had won the Miss Grillo Stakes (G2) to earn her spot in the race.
Off to a fast start, Tiz The Law has sired a generation-leading five stakes winners with four graded stakes horses and two graded stakes winners to lead each category with a $50,000 lead on the freshman sires’ title.
Just some $50,000 behind him is none other than the red-hot McKinzie. One of the most talked-about horses when this generation entered stud, he was popular at the sales before his runners hit the track and it’s now easy to see why.
He’s the only freshman sire with two Grade 1 winners and has four Grade 1 performers in total to lead four different categories on the sires’ list.
While son Chancer McPatrick didn’t fire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) after winning two Grade 1s, Quickick represented her sire well in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Already Grade 1-placed in the Alcibiades (G1) in October, she was third at the Breeders’ Cup to give her sire a placer in his first crop. Not surprisingly, McKinzie has seen a big jump in his stud fee from $30,000 to $75,000 for 2025.
The next batch
There are a handful of new stallions already announced as joining the ranks at farms across Kentucky and the most accomplished may be National Treasure, who is heading to Spendthrift.
Set to be standing for $40,000 in 2025, National Treasure was the winner of last year’s Preakness Stakes (G1) before registering two Grade 1s in 2024 to make a solid case for Eclipse honors.
He is joined on the Spendthrift roster by the aforementioned Dornoch, who is also scheduled to stand for $40,000.
Just down the road, this year’s Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Seize The Grey will be standing for $30,000 at Gainesway.
The second son of the late Arrogate to enter stud in Kentucky, Seize The Grey also won the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) in his penultimate start.
The only other son of Arrogate in Kentucky is last year’s Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Arcangelo.
Only one Classic winner from the last two seasons remains in training with Mystik Dan set to race in 2025. While he is the only Triple Crown race winner we’ll see racing in 2025, he is joined by Classic-placed runners Sierra Leone, Forever Young, Catching Freedom, and Mindframe to make for an interesting older horse division next season
