2020: Into Mischief tops General Sire List again, shatters earnings record

Into Mischief, 2019 & 2020 Champion General Sire | Autry Graham photo

After topping the 2019 General Sire List with a record 218 winners and $18.8 million in progeny earnings, Into Mischief had an even more spectacular 2020, with a record-shattering $22,506,911 in progeny earnings, breaking Tapit’s 2016 record of $19,907,973.

Into Mischief also had 29 black type winners, an astounding 64 stakes horses and 28 graded stakes horses over the past year.

Remarkably, his 2020 progeny earnings was nearly $10 million more than his closest pursuer, Medaglia d’Oro, while he had 27 more black type horses than second-best Uncle Mo. His 15% black-type performers-to-starters is also the best of the year.

His 3-year-old colt Authentic, who has now joined his sire on the Spendthrift stallion roster, won both the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and is all but assured of being named Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male at this month’s Eclipse Award ceremony.

His 3-year-old filly Gamine was superlative last year as well, winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), Test S. (G1) and Acorn S. (G1) by a combined 32 lengths, and is likely an Eclipse Award winner.

Authentic, being his sire’s first classic race winner, marked a new high and validate his ability to get a distance horse, though Owendale and Audible had previously placed in the Triple Crown. Into Mischief has bred more than 235 mares each of the past four seasons, nearly assuring that his upcoming crops will have a big impact on the racetrack. Booked full for 2021, his fee rose from $175,000 in 2020 to $225,000 this year.

Already in 2020 the newly-minted 3-year-old colt Life Is Good won the Sham S. (G3) on Jan. 2 in just his second lifetime start, and the same day another 3-year-old, Mutasaabeq, won Gulfstream Park’s Mucho Macho Man S., getting the year off to a terrific start for their sire.