first-crop yearling sire

   The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. Check out the first few editions of our series here. When no less a judge than Kenny McPeek purchases three colts...

The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions, including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. David Ingordo has followed Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags--Sea Gull, by Mineshaft) throughout his career, but the Lane's End bloodstock agent said that...

The energy seems to be building by the hour now that the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale yearlings are in place as buyers sift through the barns surrounding the famed Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion. There's much to look forward to in this 100th edition of the auction, including a sample of the highly-anticipated first crop of yearlings from Triple Crown champion Justify (Scat Daddy - Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper). With 10 sons and daughters of Justify currently slated to go through the sales ring, these youngsters represent the first book of...

First-crop yearling sire City of Light (Quality Road - Paris Notion, by Dehere) was a physical standout long before he joined the Lane's End stallion roster. In 2015, the son of Quality Road bred by Ann Marie Farm topped the sixth session of the Keeneland September Sale by a landslide when he sold for $710,000 to Mark Reid of Walnut Green. It was the largest ticket price for a Keeneland Book 3 horse since 2007. Allaire Ryan recalls watching City of Light develop at Lane's End Farm in the days...

When regally-bred Grade I winner Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy-Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek) joined the stallion roster at Ashford Stud in 2019, his half-brother Into Mischief had just received a bump in stud fee from $100,000 to $150,000 at nearby Spendthrift Farm. The next year, as Mendelssohn's first foals were hitting the ground, Into Mischief was represented by GI Kentucky Derby hero and eventual Horse of the Year Authentic. Today, as Into Mischief is now widely regarded as the leading stallion in the world, Mendelssohn awaits the day when his first...

Curlin is in the midst of an exceptional year. He's the only North American sire with three Grade I winners already in 2021 with undefeated Kentucky Oaks heroine Malathaat, Florida Derby winner Known Agenda and Santa Anita H. victor Idol. He's also responsible for the buzz horse of the week in undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' and GIII Dwyer S. winner First Captain. As expected from Curlin, a sire known for his Classic-producing abilities, all four of these current stars broke through to stardom as sophomores or older. And while two...

Carrie Brogden wasn't planning on purchasing many pinhook prospects for Machmer Hall at last year's Keeneland November Sale. She was busy inspecting the stock on her clients' shopping lists, plus her farm already had a plethora of weanlings back home that would need to be prepped come summertime. But on the fourth day of the sale, a colt entered the ring that she couldn't pass up. The February-foaled weanling came from the James B. Keogh consignment and was a son of first-crop weanling sire Collected (City Zip-Helena Bay (GB), by...

David Ingordo has undoubtedly inspected thousands of yearlings, many of whom went on to become Ingordo-purchased success stories, since he saw Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky) at the 2014 Keeneland September Sale. Nevertheless, the well-respected agent has a vivid memory of seeing Hip 1162 at the Bluewater Sales consignment, a May-foaled son of the stakes-placed Awesome Again mare Issues. "When a horse first walks out, you get an impression--at least, that's what it is for me," Ingordo said. "And he was an extremely well- balanced horse, plenty of substance to him....

After 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality's sound victory in the GI Belmont S., his sire Tapit became one of only two stallions in history to produce four winners of the Classic test. In doing so, the champion sire did one of his other Belmont-winning sons, this one also a fellow Gainesway stallion, a favor by reinforcing the market's every-growing esteem for Tapit bloodlines. The achievements of Essential Quality and Tapit came at just the right time for Tapwrit (Tapit -Appealing Zophie, by Successful Appeal), who will have his first crop...

Champion sire Into Mischief has had a lot of good weekends. But this year's Kentucky Derby weekend had to be near the top of the list. On Friday, his son Owendale ran second in the GII Alysheba S. at Churchill Downs only to be defeated by By My Standards, sired by none other than Into Mischief's leading son Goldencents. Then the next day at Saratoga, Into Mischief's daughter Frank's Rockette became a Grade II winner in the Prioress S. while at Gulfstream, Cool Arrow won the GIII Smile Sprint S....

Arrogate's first book of 143 mares, a who's who of some of the top breeding stock in the country, reflected the jaw-dropping career of North America's richest racehorse. Dual Eclipse Champion Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) was one of several champions sent to Arrogate during his first year at stud. "Arrogate's first book was incredibly special," said Juddmonte's Stallions Nominations Manager Leif Aaron. "Half of the book was graded stakes winners or graded stakes producers, and a quarter of it was Grade I winners or Grade I producers. Breeders brought their very...

Three of Ashford Stud's Grade I-winning stallions will be in the limelight in the coming weeks as they are represented by their first crop of yearlings in the sales ring. Three-time GIW Practical Joke (Into Mischief), the regally-bred Cupid (Tapit) and juvenile champion Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile) all ranked amongst the top of their class with the sale of their weanlings, and now look to continue the streak with their yearlings. We sat down with Coolmore's Adrian Wallace and discussed two of the young sires. [tdn_vimeo_embed title="Cupid and Classic...