fast times at obs: into mischief’s ... - horse racing news
TRANSCRIPT
Fast Times At OBS: Into Mischief’s RunnersDominate Breeze Shows
By Joe Nevills
Continued on Page 7
Into Mischief’s standing as one of North America’s elite sires is well established, both in the sales ring and on the racetrack. As the numbers show, the resident of Spendthrift Farm is just as exemplary in the space between.
From 2015 to 2020, a total of 1,335 juveniles breezed an eighth of a mile in :10 seconds flat or faster during the three primary 2-year-olds in training sales hosted by Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. Into Mischief led all sires in that time span with 51, which was more than double his next-closest contemporary.
Twirling Candy of Lane’s End came in second with 23, while fellow Lane’s End resident Quality Road tied with Claiborne Farm’s Flatter with 20.
The six seasons counted in the sample feature Into Mischief’s fourth through ninth crops, tracing his ascent as he blossomed into an upper-tier stallion and eventually got comfortable in the penthouse.
Explaining why Into Mischief has so drastically distanced himself from the rest of the field in this statistic can venture down a few different threads.
The first is a simple numbers game. Though he had just 35 total foals in the first sampled crop, the juveniles of 2015, his popularity exploded in the ensuing seasons, giving him one of the busiest books in North America.
From his 2014 foal crop (juveniles of 2016) to 2018 (juveniles of 2020), Into Mischief never saw less than 157 live foals in a given crop, and his final year in the snapshot topped him out at 201 foals. With that many opportunities to produce :10-and-under runners, the chances improve that the stallion will get them.
Of course, putting an army of foals under tack doesn’t matter if they can’t take advantage of those numbers and hit the mark on the stopwatch.
Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey said the stallion has proven himself uniquely capable of producing juveniles that are not only ready to perform physically at that stage in their development, but mentally.
“They tend to be good-minded,” he said. “They obviously tend to
be fast, and I think they tend to stand up to training. There’s just so much natural speed there that it’s not hard for them to do that kind of thing. That natural ability, combined with soundness and a good mind, I think that really helps them perform that way.”
That mental fortitude and natural ability was also noted by Jimbo Gladwell of consignor Top Line Sales, who consigns two by Into Mischief at this year’s OBS March Sale. The process of building up a young horse up to breeze the fastest furlong of its life can be too much for some prospects, but Gladwell said the Into Mischiefs have handled the pressure.Into Mischief
EQU
ISPO
RT P
HO
TO
LORDNELSON
DON'T MISS HIS FIRST 2YOS AT OBS.
“I have three and they’re as good of a group as anything we have. People should pay attention to Lord Nelson.”–Paul Sharp
.COMSPECIAL 2YO SALEMarch 15, 2021
Page 2
Stallion Spotlight
YORKTONB. h., 2014, Speightstownx Sunday Affair, by A.P. Indy
Race Record: 30-7-4-3; $546,332Advertised Fee: $5,000
What is Yorkton’s strongest selling point as a stallion?
Robert Keck: It’s hard to list just one. He was durable, making 30 starts, and fast, winning five stakes. He is a son Speightstown, a great physical with an elite pedigree.
If I’ve got a mare that needs help from a stallion physically, what do you foresee Yorkton best being able to contribute to that equation?
Keck: Yorkton is an exceptional physical. He has extremely good bone, you rarely see cannons that strong. He is very correct, has great muscling, and coupling. He is 16.1 hands with scope, a great top-line, and a good hind leg. Any mare will benefit from his physical attributes.
Speightstown is rapidly emerging as a sire of sires. What about Yorkton separates him within that group?
Keck: Being the only Speightstown, out of an A.P. Indy mare; additionally being from a super-elite female family gives him a great advantage. His half-brother Weyburn just won the G3 Gotham Stakes, earning 50 points for the Kentucky Derby.
Yorkton’s third dam is the mighty Maplejinsky. How much does having a strong female family under a stallion affect his appeal, and his ability to sire runners?
Keck: Very rarely do you see a successful stallion that doesn’t have a strong female family, that foundation forecasts a stallion that has a future. Yorkton has 11 Grade 1 winners, including six millionaires, and two champions from his immediate female family.
What else should someone considering Yorkton know before making the call?
Keck: Chiefswood Stables is supporting this stallion by breeding some extremely nice mares. The $1-million Breeders’ Incentive Program gives you an idea of how committed they are to seeing Yorkton succeed.
The Breeders’ Incentive Program will award $10,000 to the breeders of Yorkton’s first 20 juveniles in his debut crop to win a North American maiden special weight at or above the $25,000 purse level.
Breeders of the first six debut-crop foals to win a listed black type stakes race in North America with a purse of $75,000 or more will receive a $100,000 bonus, if it’s done before the end of their 3-year-old season. A $200,000 bonus will go to the breeder of Yorkton’s first Grade 1 winner before the end of their 3-year-
old campaign, as well.
Anyone with questions can contact us directly at Crestwood Farm.
Yorkton
Crestwood Farm’s Robert Keck On YorktonBy Joe Nevills
PRS
Page 4
Runners by Pennsylvania’s stallions generated nearly $850,000 in stallion awards in 2020, and a familiar name found himself at the top of the sire list.
The late Jump Start was the Keystone State’s leading resident by stallion award earnings, bringing in
Fire’s Finale
$172,796.02 for owner Northview Stallion Station Inc.
The owner of a Pennsylvania-based stallion at the time of a foal’s conception is eligible for stallion awards generated by that foal. Stallion owners receive 10 percent of the purse earned when a registered Pennsylvania-bred and-sired runner finishes in the top three in any pari-mutuel race within the state.
Jump Start was Pennsylvania’s leading sire by general earnings in 2020, with 155 runners and 71 winners making nearly $3.3 million.
He accounted for two of the top five earners of stallion awards, led by It’s a Journey, who generated $10,310 in that category last year. The veteran campaigner had her best season yet in 2020, featuring victories in the Mrs. Penny Stakes and an optional claiming race at Parx Racing.
Jump Start also had Fire’s Finale add $8,835 in stallion awards. The colt generated awards in two races during his juvenile season, breaking his maiden at Parx, then taking the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes. PRS
PENNSYLVANIA LEADERBOARD
Jump Start Tops2020 Stallion
Award EarnersBy Joe Nevills
BILL DENVER/EQUI-PHOTO
Leading Pennsylvania Sires by 2020 Stallion Awards, Through Dec. 30SIRE STALLION OWNER TOTAL
Jump Start Northview Stallion Station Inc $172,796.02El Padrino Northview Stallion Station Inc $86,778.90Talent Search Glenn E Brok LLC $56,700.74Uptowncharlybrown Uptowncharlybrown Stud LLC $53,843.92Weigelia Wyn Oaks Farm LLC $45,712.64Albert The Great William J Solomon VMD $33,349.60Smarty Jones Patricia L Chapman $32,032.60
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Veterinarians at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital answer your questions about sales and healthcare of Thoroughbred auction yearlings, weanlings, 2-year-olds and breeding stock.
QUESTION: Spring is often the time of year horses struggle with skin ailments due to humidity and wet weather. How do you recognize
and treat the most common skin ailments and when do you need to call your veterinarian for help?
DR. ASHTON BROMAN: With the onset of the rainy and humid season, many owners may dread the thought of going out to the barn to find their horse has skin disease. While there is no single cure-all treatment for “skin disease,” there are distinguishing characteristics of common skin ailments owners can learn to recognize while also knowing when veterinary involvement is necessary.
With the onset of the wet season, one of the most common skin ailments is pastern dermatitis, commonly known as dew poisoning or scratches. Most owners know how to recognize this by the small scabs and sometimes cracked and painful skin along the pastern. Horses in wet, muddy conditions as well as those with non-pigmented skin (often with white hair) or long feathered fetlock hair are more predisposed to this condition. If caught early, clipping and washing the pasterns, gently removing the scabs, and keeping the pasterns as dry as possible can alleviate the problem. For more severe cases, there are medicated ointments containing anti-inflammatories and antimicrobial products that can be prescribed by your veterinarian and applied topically. Occasionally, dew poisoning can predispose a horse to more severe inflammation of the leg and lead to cellulitis. If you notice swelling up the leg with heat and sensitivity to the touch, call your veterinarian.
Some owners, when grooming their horses, will notice scabs or areas of hair loss along their horse’s body and assume it is a fungal skin disease. While fungal disease of the skin is common especially during the rainy season, there are other allergic and bacterial causes. It is important to be able to differentiate between each to ensure proper treatment is started and it is recommended you work closely with your veterinarian to diagnose the problem and come up with an appropriate treatment plan. Allergic dermatitis can often be seen as small, raised swellings along the skin with actively seeping or dried crusts which are often extremely itchy. It is usually
Dr. Broman
ASK YOUR VETERINARIANSpring Skin Ailments
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seasonal, coinciding with the onset of spring and summer, with horses presenting with the same problem year after year. It is often caused by an allergy to insect bites but can also be due to reaction to certain chemicals or plants. As the foundation of treatment is prevention, it is important to identify the cause and attempt to prevent exposure. Because this condition is recurrent, some owners will become familiar with treatments to use for their particular horse and be able to implement treatment as soon as clinical signs begin to appear. Occasionally, some horses can develop a secondary bacterial infection so if you notice the lesions are hot or painful to the touch, contact your veterinarian for further treatment.
By Dr. Ashton Broman
CLICK OR SCAN TOREAD FULL STORY
Mr. Monomoy’s pedigree and race record are about as American as they come, but his time with Willie Browne’s Mocklershill Stud in Ireland set the gears in motion to realize his potential stateside.
The son of Palace Malice is a half-sibling to champion Monomoy Girl, but the probable future Hall of Famer hadn’t begun to tap into her true star power by the time her younger brother went through the ring as a weanling at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
He was purchased by Fir Grove Farm for $60,000 as a weanling-to-yearling pinhook prospect, but Willie Browne of Mocklershill Stud said the colt wasn’t ready for primetime. Mr. Monomoy was entered in the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, but he was withdrawn before going through the ring.
“He was a nice foal, a little dipped in the back,” Browne said. “We brought him back to Keeneland as a yearling, having had the big update with Monomoy Girl. I thought I didn’t have a home run. He looked backward and there was no interest in him.”
Browne had no other option but to bring the colt back to Ireland and train him toward a breeze up sale in Europe. He was pointed toward the Arqana May Breeze Up Sale, but the road to the French sale continued to have twists and turns.
“He was quite difficult to train in the first couple of months, having nagging problems such as sore shins,” Browne said. “Consequently, he had a short preparation for the Arqana Sale. He worked exceptionally well in the two weeks leading up to the sale.”
Mr. Monomoy sold to Mandore International Agency for 180,000 Euros (US$202,230), and he was returned stateside. He debuted later that year for owners Madaket
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Honor RollMr. Monomoy’s Global Trek
By Joe Nevills
Mr. Monomoy
PRS
U NEED A BREEZE UP HORSEWar Of Will 1st Gr.1 Preakness Stakes and
Gr.1 Maker’s Mark MileEte Indien 1st Gr.2 Fountain Of Youth StakesMr. Monomoy 1st Gr.2 Risen Star StakesOutburst 1st Gr.3 Florida OaksVitalogy 1st Gr.3 Palm Beach Stakes
All purchased in EuropeStates Stakes Success
www.brzups.com
War Of Will
Mr. Monomoy
HODGES PHOTOGRAPHY/LOU HODGES JR.
Stables, Built To Win Stable, and Doheny Racing Stable. Michael Dubb would eventually buy in on the horse, as well.
The colt broke his maiden by 5 ½ furlongs in his second start as a juvenile, and he continued to improve at three with a third in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes. His final start was his most important, going wire-to-wire and drawing off to win the G2 Risen Star Stakes by 2 ½ lengths.
Though he was offered in a European sale, Browne said he was not surprised that Mr. Monomoy became successful as a U.S. dirt runner. The horseman said about 15 of the 85 to 90 horses he acquired in Mr. Monomoy’s class were born or purchased in the U.S., making the transition back to the home turf a logical one.
There are numerous recent examples of prominent U.S. runners who were sold as juveniles at the European breeze up sales; a list that includes Preakness Stakes winner War of Will, G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes winner Ete Indien, and Grade 3 winners Outburst and Vitalogy.
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PRS
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Continued from Page 1
“They have a high cruising speed, which is one of the things that makes them so successful,” Gladwell said. “They have a quick turn of foot. The mind that goes with them is conducive with what they do.”
A big-time breeze often carries with it the stigma that the horse has left its best effort at the sale and may have peaked too early, but the Into Mischiefs that have hit the :10-and-under threshold have performed well, as a group, going against that notion.
Among Into Mischief’s notable :10-and-under sale graduates are Grade 2 winner Engage, Grade 3 winners Mischevious Alex and Gas Station Sushi, and stakes winners Claire’s Song, Into Mystic, and Offspring. All of the horses on that list won stakes races at three or older, which is a trend Toffey said he expects will roll on as Into Mischief’s stock continues to rise.
“I think you’re seeing it more and more with all the good horses he’s got on the Derby trail this year,” Toffey said. “It’s been talked about in the breed for a long time; that precocity, brilliance – in other words speed – and that ability to carry it. He is one that I think for a long time, people thought was just the speed there, but I think you’re seeing it as he’s being bred to classier mares, he’s more than capable of getting a classic horse.”
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Leading Sires By Number Of :10 Flat OrFaster OBS Breeze Show 2yos, 2015-2020
Stallion :10 Flat or Faster Into Mischief 51 Twirling Candy 23 Flatter 20 Quality Road 20 Kantharos 19 Gemologst 18 Uncle Mo 18 Majesticperfection 17
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Page 8
Following a season where the Godolphin operation took home the Eclipse Award as outstanding owner, the blue team has set a blistering pace on its quest to collect its second trophy as outstanding breeder.
Godolphin leads all breeders with five North American graded stakes winners through March 9, all homebreds, with the most recent addition Micheline, who took the Grade 2 Hillsborough Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on March 6.
It was the seasonal debut for the 4-year-old Bernardini filly, and her first career graded stakes win after several close calls in previous campaigns. She is out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Include mare Panty Raid.
Champion Essential Quality, made his seasonal debut a winning one with a powerful drive down the sloppy Oaklawn Park stretch to win the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes by 4 ¼ lengths on Feb. 27. He is a son of Tapit, out of the Grade 3-placed Elusive Quality mare Delightful Quality.
Godolphin has a strong pair of 4-year-old colts at the top of the older male division, in Maxfield and Mystic Guide.
Maxfield, a son of Street Sense, shined in his first start of the season with a four-wide rally on Feb. 13 to win the G3 Mineshaft Stakes at the Fair Grounds.
He is out of the winning Bernardini mare Velvety, who raced as a Godolphin homebred in England.
American Graded Stakes Standings Godolphin Sets The Pace Among Breeders
By Joe Nevills
PRESENTED BY
Mystic Guide added his name to the fold with a dominant performance in the G3 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 27, drawing off to win by six lengths over a sloppy sealed track.
Mystic Guide is also out of a mare that competed under the Godolphin colors in Music Note, a daughter of A.P. Indy who picked up five Grade 1 wins over the course of her career.
Rounding out the group was Antoinette, a 4-year-old daughter of Hard Spun who also won her seasonal bow with an effortless front-running triumph in the G3 The Very One Stakes, also on Feb. 27.
Another multi-generational member of the Godolphin breeding program, Antoinette is out of the Godolphin-homebred Elusive Quality mare Shuruq, who was a group stakes winner in the UAE and Turkey. PRS
Leading Breeders Of 2021North American Graded Stakes Winners
THROUGH MARCH 8
RANK BREEDER WINNERS WINS
1 Godolphin 5 5
2 Gary & Mary West 3 4
3 Dixiana Farms 2 2
Juddmonte Farms 2 2
My Meadowview 2 2
Stonestreet Tb. Holdings 2 2
7 Courtlandt Farm 1 2
Fred Hertrich 1 2
Gunpowder Farms 1 2