2022 First-Crop Yearling Sires | Horse Racing Free Tips

First-Crop Yearling Previews: Audible

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.

WinStar Farm's Liam O'Rourke vividly recalls the day that breeders got their first look at Audible (Into Mischief – Blue Devil Bel, by Gilded Time) just after the new stallion moved into the stud barn.

“We had a little party here to welcome him to the WinStar stallion barn and when we brought him out in front of breeders, there was an immediate draw to him,” O'Rourke explained. “He's just such a eyeful and is among the very best of the physicals by Into Mischief. From that point, people started shouting for seasons.”

Demand to breed to the 2018 GI Florida Derby winner was so high that Audible was the most popular first-year stallion in WinStar's history, breeding just over 220 mares in his debut season with a $25,000 stud fee.

“Demand for him has been extremely strong through all three years he's been here,” O'Rourke reported. “Right from the get go, there was a buzz around town on Audible.”

A $175,000 New York-bred yearling pinhook and a $500,000 2-year-old purchase for WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, Audible broke his maiden as a juvenile for Todd Pletcher and returned at three to take the GII Holy Bull S. by over five lengths and the GI Florida Derby by three. He ran third to Justify in the GI Kentucky Derby and later added another victory in the Cherokee Run S. Audible retired at four with over $2 million in career earnings.

As Audible's first crop of foals arrived last year, O'Rourke said that he quickly found several common trends in the youngsters.

“They're a very consistent group,” he noted. “He throws great substance, plenty of length, great quality and good bone. They're a robust, muscular type but with lots of length and they look like they can stretch out. The feedback from breeders was very positive from the start and we realized pretty early on that he was going to have a big November.”

Audible ranked second in his class with his first crop of weanlings. His progeny averaged $103,813 with 43 of 53 sold, including 16 six-figure weanlings led by a $360,000 filly out of Nagambie (Flatter) named Cosmic Thread and a $200,000 filly out of Safwah (Medaglia d'Oro).

With his first yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, Audible's progeny continued to trend upward. Seven of his nine lots sold for six figures, led by a colt out of I'm Guilty (Verrazano) that brought $220,00 to Bradley Thoroughbreds and a second colt out of Wonder Stone (Super Saver) that sold to Gus King for $200,000.

“Some of the best judges were on the Audibles in July, including Donato Lanni, Peter Bradley, Travis Durr and Nick de Meric,” O'Rourke said. “He has seven entered at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, which is more than any other freshman sire, so we think that's a great sign.”

Machmer Hall's Audible filly sells as Hip 43 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale | Sara Gordon

One filly bound for Saratoga will represent the Machmer Hall consignment as Hip 43. The yearling out of Patsy's Kim (Dixie Union) was bred by Teresa Little and was a private purchase for Machmer Hall Sales. Carrie Brogden said that the youngster is the type of yearling that their consignment hopes to offer in Saratoga.

“She's big and fancy and two-turn, but looks like she'll have speed,” Brogden said. “She vets, she's correct and she's got a classy brain. Our farm has a share in Audible. I was a big fan of him as a racehorse and obviously WinStar has an incredible track record making stallions. We had two Audibles in July and they were more of a pinhooker-style horse. Both of them looked very speedy. This [Saratoga-bound] filly has a lot more scope and stretch.”

Of the Audibles that have been on her farm, Brogden said that all have shared one trait that she has also noticed in Into Mischief's progeny and the offspring of other sons of the champion sire.

“They all have the Into Mischief brain,” she said. “When you're pushing the feed cart, they're always whinnying and beating down the door for feed. For me that's a wonderful sign of a racehorse because it means they're not going to back out of their feed tub. It's a common theme that I see again and again.”

Another yearling slated for the sales ring in Saratoga is a colt out of Peter Blum's homebred Tapit mare Sundown. The gray will sell as Hip 97 with Bridie Harrison.

“We like this colt a lot,” Harrison reported. “He's tall with a lot of leg and great length. Audible added a lot of size and scope to Sundown. This is certainly one of her bigger foals. He's a very nice mover and has a great temperament.”

After the Select Sale in Saratoga, nine Audible yearlings will go through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale.

As Audible's progeny soon begin making their way to the racetrack, O'Rourke said to look for them to come out in force early next year.

“He was a precocious horse,” he noted. “He breezed fast and then went out and performed as a 2-year-old on the racetrack. His sire line has precocity so I do think there's going to be precocity there, but with the way he's built, I think they are built to carry that speed a route of ground. They'll be able to go around two turns with their length, but do so in a front-running fashion.”

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First-Crop Yearling Sires: Vino Rosso

When no less a judge than Kenny McPeek purchases three colts by the same first-crop yearling sire, people take note. Known for his flair for picking out future stars from the sales ring, McPeek took home a trio of youngsters by Breeders' Cup champion Vino Rosso (Curlin – Mythical Bride, by Street Cry) at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

Spendthrift Farm's Mark Toothaker said it was the best stamp they could have asked for to get the young sire's yearling sales season off to a flying start.

“I had a chance to talk to Kenny afterwards and he just told me that they were his kind of horses,” Toothaker relayed. “Anytime you have horses in his barn, you've got a shot because as we've seen lately, he wins races everywhere.”

The three Vino Rosso colts were the highest-priced yearlings among McPeek's eight July Sale purchases, selling for $250,000, $200,000 and $180,000. Overall, the stallion's progeny averaged $135,000 from 11 lots at the one-day sale.

Vino Rosso himself was a $410,000 yearling purchase for Mike Repole and St. Elias in 2016. Now that the young stallion has a few crops on the ground, Toothaker said that his progeny are reflecting their sire's eye-catching physical.

“When we were starting to go out and see all the foals, we saw that he was really stamping them,” he explained. “They're not too coarse and not too heavy. They're more of a refined-looking horse and they're good movers. They've got a really solid hip on them and they seem to be horses that are very correct.”

Toothaker said that he believes the ball is just starting to get rolling for Vino Rosso, explaining that pinhookers who may have been hesitant to get behind the first-crop yearling sire are now joining the bandwagon.

“Talking to my 2-year-old buddies, they've been burned on some sons of Curlin that just weren't fast at the 2-year-old sales. After the [July] sale once they had a chance to watch them move and see who was buying them, I think there's a whole other take now on 'Vino' from the 2-year-old guys. It's a little bit like Bolt d'Oro last year where there was a little bit of hesitancy. Are these going to be fast enough? Then once they saw how they sold at the sales, everybody had to have one.”

Undefeated in two starts as a juvenile for Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso went on to win the GII Wood Memorial S. as a sophomore. At four, he claimed the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita S., was taken down to second after crossing the wire first in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S., and capped off his career with a memorable victory in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic to earn Eclipse honors as Champion Older Dirt Male.

Vino Rosso colt out of Money Madness sells with Mill Ridge Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale | Sara Gordon

Retired to Spendthrift Farm, Vino Rosso was launched at a stud fee of $30,000 and bred 238 mares in his first year at stud. With fees of $25,000 and $20,000 in his next two years at stud, the son of Curlin bred over 180 mares in 2021 and close to 140 this year.

The stallion ranked third in his class of first-crop weanling sires at last year's breeding stock sales when his progeny averaged $90,595 with 47 of 61 sold. Leading the way was his colt out of Fair Huntress (Tiznow), who brought $340,000 at the Keeneland November Sale.

Five yearlings by Vino Rosso are slated to sell at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. The first to go through the ring is Hip 28, a colt out of Money Madness (Rahy). The Mill Ridge Farm-consigned chestnut was a $100,000 pinhook partnership purchase at the Keeneland November Sale and is a half-brother to LNJ Foxwoods' MGSW Boardroom (Commissioner). Mill Ridge's Price Bell said that the colt is thriving in the final weeks of sales preparation.

“Physically, he looks very fast,” Bell said. “[Our partnership] fell in love with his leg and his attitude when he was a foal and we feel like he has really progressed since that time. He has a really nice, quick look to him and in prep, he has been a workhorse. He has really enjoyed his exercise.”

Bell added that with the Vino Rosso yearlings they have had at Mill Ridge, he has been consistently impressed by their attitudes.

Also at the Saratoga Sale, a Vino Rosso colt out of the winning Pulpit mare War Relic sells with Denali Stud as Hip 115. The yearling was foaled and raised at Elm Tree Farm. Farm owner Jody Huckabay said that the colt has been special from the start.

Vino Rosso's Fasig-Tipton-bound colt out of War Relic was bred and raised at Elm Tree Farm. | Sara Gordon

“He came looking honestly very similar to what he looks like now,” Huckabay said. “He's just developed and he does everything we've asked him to do through the prepping process. You hear that all the time, but he's a horse that has been a joy to be around. We're very proud of him. He's very athletic. We think he's a special horse.”

Other Vino Rosso yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale include Hip 71, a filly out of GIISP Shaken (Uncle Mo) with Gainesway; Hip 133, a half-brother to GIIISP Aurelia Garland (Constitution) with Warrendale Sales; and Hip 172, a colt out of the stakes-placed mare Divergent View (Congrats) with Machmer Hall Sales.

An additional 10 sons and daughters of Vino Rosso are cataloged for the New York-bred Sale.

Toothaker indicated that Vino Rosso will have a strong backing from his ownership group as the yearling sales progress.

“[At the Fasig-Tipton July Sale] Mike Repole was in there bidding and they didn't end up getting anything, but they made sure everything got vetted and wound up selling very well,” he said. “There will be some yearlings that land in his lap as we go forward and it's exciting to know that there are going to be some in those orange and blue colors.”

Once Vino Rosso's progeny get to the racetrack, Toothaker said he believes the athleticism they display now will become even more apparent.

“I feel like they're going to be very efficient on the track with the way they move,” he said. “If they have any of that Curlin blood running through them, which they do, every time you look up you see something from the sire line having success, so we're excited about what the future holds for Vino Rosso.”

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First-Crop Yearling Previews: Maximus Mischief

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.

Buyers will have plenty of opportunity to get a good look at the first crop from Maximus Mischief (Into Mischief – Reina Maria, by Songandaprayer) at next week's Fasig-Tipton July Sale. With a dozen yearlings currently slated to go through the ring for Maximus Mischief, Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker said the young sire is generating quite the commercial buzz.

“I think he's going to have as much hype as any stallion out there,” he explained. “We knew there was a lot of excitement with this horse and we felt like, as the Fasig-Tipton team was doing their inspections, they were going to find a lot of these that they liked. He's a horse that gets the right type of physical. ”

While Maximus Mischief's major selling point for breeders has been the fact that he is by Into Mischief, this son of the remarkable leading stallion offers a different physical than most other sons of Into Mischief at stud. Toothaker said the speedy 'TDN Rising Star'-turned-Grade II winner has continued to fill out since settling in at Spendthrift and now, as a 6-year-old, stands at 17 hands.

“He is my biggest horse,” he said. “For him to win his first three starts, including the GII Remsen S., he was amazing with his speed for a horse that big. But to be an Into Mischief and be that big is even more amazing because normally that's something we don't see a lot. For him to be this massive, stretchy horse, breeders are loving it.”

Toothaker explained that as a unique representation of the Into Mischief line, Maximus Mischief is producing offspring with both the body and the leg that the commercial market demands.

“Breeders are putting something out there that the market wants. You get that great hip and really good Into Mischief body, but also with plenty of leg.”

With a $7,500 stud fee in his first three years at stud, Maximus Mischief has been held to an average of 180 mares each year. It's a book size that Toothaker said fits the stallion and what they hope to accomplish with him.

“I feel like we hit the bull's-eye with him because he's at a price that anybody can afford,” he noted. “It has caused a dilemma because we sell him out, which is a great problem to have, but it's exciting for breeders to be able to get a horse of his quality for that price. Who wouldn't want to breed to a son of Into Mischief?”

Out of a half-sister to Grade I winner Secret Compass (Discreet Compass) and campaigned by Cash is King LLC and LC Racing, Maximus Mischief romped in his first two starts as a juvenile at Parx, winning the first by almost nine lengths under wraps and the second in a similar style with a 98 Beyer Speed Figure. He remained undefeated in the GII Remsen S., but incurred an injury shortly after placing in the GII Holy Bull S. and was forced off the Kentucky Derby trail and eventually into retirement.

“We were pretty determined to land him here at Spendthrift,” Toothaker noted.”We were very fortunate that Chuck Zacney and Glenn Bennett were willing to do a deal with us to insure bringing him here. They've been very, very supportive of Max each year. They've sent mares to him and have been active at the sales buying some.”

At the fall and winter breeding stock sales, Maximus Mischief's progeny averaged $42,777 with 45 of 52 sold. At the Keeneland January Sale, his filly out of Sheza Sweet Lemon (Lemon Drop Kid) sold for $145,000 to Cash Is King and Commonwealth New Era Racing.

Bloodstock agent and pinhooker Renee Dailey said she went into the weanling sales with the goal of coming out with several Maximus Mischief pinhooking prospects.

“We had seen and heard about how their appearance was so much like the Into Mischiefs,” she recalled. “They were very athletic-looking foals that had great walks and strong shoulders and hips. When they were pulled out of the barn, you would not have known it wasn't an Into Mischief.”

Hip 123, Maximus Mischief colt out of Lucy Buckner | Amy Lanigan

Dailey couldn't get her hands on a Maximus Mischief until late in the Keeneland November Sale, but found another prospect in January. Partnering with John Greathouse of Glencrest Farm, she signed the ticket on a colt out of Lucy Buckner (Stormy Atlantic), a full-sister to GISW Stormy Lucy, for $55,000.

“When John and I got him at that price, we looked at each other and high-fived,” she recounted. “We were thrilled. He is a very strong colt. He has a huge hip and shoulder. With Storm Cat on the bottom and Into Mischief on the top, he is bred to be fast and it's a similar cross to GISW Going to Vegas (Goldencents).”

The colt is now preparing to go through the ring as Hip 123 at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale with Four Star Sales.

“I'm just thrilled with how he has come along through sales prep,” Dailey said. “He's a forward, tenacious colt and an extremely athletic physical. I've had him since he was purchased and he just hasn't had a bad day.”

Toothaker said he believes that Maximus Mischief's sales prospects at Fasig-Tipton July will serve as a harbinger for more to come for their sire as the yearling auctions continue.

“Everyone you talk to is saying that they've got a good one,” he said. “They're going to be horses that people can buy right and give them a real chance at the track or back at the 2-year-old sales.”

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First-Crop Yearling Previews: Yoshida

The ever-growing depth and caliber of the Japanese breeding and racing industry was on full display at last year's Breeders' Cup World Championships when Japan captured its first two Breeders' Cup victories in a span of just a few hours.

One year before future champions Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Marche Lorraine (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) were both foaled, WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden and SF Bloodstock's Tom Ryan attended the 2015 Japan Racing Horse Association's yearling and weanling sale. They came home with a group that included Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn} – Hilda's Passion, by Canadian Frontier)–a ¥94 million (approximately $850,000) yearling purchase, eventual multiple Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star', and now, a WinStar Farm sire with his first crop of yearlings pointing for the sales ring.

Bred by Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm, the grandson of the Japanese breed-shaping sire Sunday Silence is the second foal out of Hilda's Passion, a multiple graded stakes winner who culminated her career with a victory in the 2011 GI Ballerina S. and then sold to Katsumi Yoshida for $1.225 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

“Yoshida is very prototypical of the Japanese breeding program,” said WinStar's Liam O'Rourke. “He's out of an elite American race mare and he is by a son of Sunday Silence. We've seen it come to fruition in recent times that in the Japanese program, they breed for class and versatility. Those are two of the big qualities that Yoshida represents.”

Campaigned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and Head of Plains Partners, Yoshida raced from age two through five under Bill Mott's tutelage, claiming four stakes wins headlined by the GI Old Forester Turf Classic S. on turf and the GI Woodward S. on dirt.

Debuting in his career at stud with a fee of $20,000 in 2020, the durable earner of $2.5 million bred 148 mares in his first year at WinStar. With a $15,000 stud fee, he saw another 84 mares last year.

“His first book was ranked third by CPI among [incoming] sires that year,” O'Rourke noted. “We're very proud of the types of mares that he has gotten. He's been supported by a variety of breeders, both commercial and racing types.”

As Yoshida's yearlings now work through their sales prep, O'Rourke said that he has heard optimistic reviews from breeders.

“They have a lot of his physical qualities,” he reported. “They have that class and strength. In watching them as foals early on out in the field, you could see that they were high energy. They were assertive types, kind of rambunctious, and were really aware of their surroundings. The one really common piece of feedback that I get as I've been visiting farms is that you can't give them enough work. That's a great quality when they have the desire to work and to be competitive.”

O'Rourke said that Yoshida's ability on multiple surfaces, along with Japan's growing success on a global scale, has retained breeders' interest throughout the stallion's first three years at stud.

“It's unique that he was so successful on dirt and turf,” he said. “I think he brings a different dimension to the stud barn that we're very proud to offer breeders. He was a very convincing winner of the Woodward, which is a great sire-producing race. In the Old Forester Turf Classic on Derby Day, [he beat] a great field. I think there was eight graded stakes winners in that field. He also beat Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar in the GIII Hill Prince S.”

Last year, Yoshida was represented by 36 weanlings and short yearlings at the fall and winter breeding stock sales. 23 youngsters sold to average $38,279. His colt out of GIIISW Catherinethegreat (Uncaptured) sold for $150,000 at the Keeneland November Sale while in Japan, a colt out of Curlins BFF (Curlin) brought $181,235.

Yoshida has seven yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale on July 12, including a colt out of Moon and Stars (Orb) that sells as Hip 19 with the Shawhan Place consignment.

“He's very strong with tons of bone, good hip and a strong shoulder,” said Shawhan Place's Director of Sales Courtney Schneider. “He's built like a bull; he's just so strong. He's very easy to work with and he's a little bit more forward than our others so that's why we wanted to showcase him a bit earlier in the July Sale.”

Shawhan Place has a special connection with Yoshida as the birthplace of his dam. Bred by Shawhan partner Ted Kuster, Hilda's Passion did not meet her reserve as a weanling, but was sold early in her racing career and went on to claim five graded stakes for Starlight Racing.

“Yoshida was a stallion we were really excited to support here on the farm,” Schneider said. “He was a dual-surface Grade I winner and has all the qualifications of bringing back the Sunday Silence line. We have several on the farm that we're really excited about.”

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