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Bloodlines: Authentic’s Haskell Win Brings Latest Success For Into Mischief, MyRacehorse

Into Mischief picked up his sixth Grade 1 winner on July 18 with Authentic's victory in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. Two days earlier, the bay son of the deceased sire Harlan's Holiday (by the Storm Cat stallion Harlan) had the one-two in the G3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga when Dayoutoftheoffice won by six lengths from Make Mischief, who was a length ahead of second-choice Hopeful Princess (Not This Time). The fourth horse was 10 lengths farther back, and the odds-on favorite, Beautiful Memories (Hard Spun), stumbled at the start, was pulled up after a half-mile, then walked off.

In contrast to the victory of heavily favored Authentic, Dayoutoftheoffice and Make Mischief were two of the four longest shots in the field of seven, and the winner was 19.8-to-1.

Quick, precocious, and willing racers, Dayoutoftheoffice and Make Mischief are typical of the progeny of leading sire Into Mischief, who has stood his entire stud career at Spendthrift Farm for owner B. Wayne Hughes, and the stallion has risen from the modest heights of an entering stud fee of $12,500 to a position in the hierarchy of stallions where his fee for 2020 was $175,000 live foal, and for 2021, it would not be surprising to see a further increase.

The quantity and quality of his offspring are responsible for that steady upward progression in stud fee.

As evidence of that, Into Mischief was the leading sire of 2019 by progeny earnings, with $18.9 million, and he ranks second in 2020. In addition, Into Mischief is a promising sire of stallions, with such well-regarded young horses as Audible (G1 Florida Derby), who entered stud at WinStar in 2020, and Practical Joke (G1 Champagne, Hopeful, Allen Jerkens), who entered stud at Ashford in 2018 and has first-crop yearlings this year.

When he goes to stud, Authentic will go to Spendthrift to stand alongside Into Mischief, like the stallion's other sons Goldencents (sire of seven stakes winners and the earners of more than $10 million) and Maximus Mischief, who entered stud in 2020.

Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker said, “We're so lucky to have Into Mischief, because he's a generational sort of sire, and we'd love to stand all his sons, too. We already have a couple, and we're thrilled to have Authentic coming to Spendthrift. He's a taller, stretchier sort of Into Mischief, and we're seeing more of that type as breeders are coming to breed more mares to him with size and scope.”

Before Authentic goes on to a second career, however, trainer Bob Baffert will point the long-legged bay for the Kentucky Derby, and “hopefully Authentic runs on next year at four; that's the deal with him now,” Toothaker said, “and that was part of the plan for bringing in MyRacehorse.com as part of the ownership of the horse.”

Purchased at the 2018 Keeneland September sale by SF Bloodstock and Starlight West, Authentic started his career so impressively that Madaket Stables LLC, Spendthrift Farms LLC, and MyRaceHorse Stable subsequently have bought into the horse.

The first four entities are well-known for involvement in high-profile racing stock, but MyRaceHorse Stable is a different proposition. Toothaker noted that when “we met Michael Behrens, who owned MyRacehorse.com at the time, we loved it so much that Spendthrift bought a significant interest in the company,” and now Spendthrift is putting MyRaceHorse Stable in partnerships with some of its high-class racers.

Brian Lyle, who is the liaison for Spendthrift with MyRaceHorse Stable, said that “Mr. Hughes is concerned with the number of people involved in racing and wants to help attract more people to the sport. Our concept of MyRaceHorse Stable is purely to get more fans to the racetrack. It brings in more owners, it builds greater enthusiasm, and it builds up education so that some owners can move to the next level with their involvement in the sport.”

In Toothaker's analogy of the approach, he said, “It's a sort of farm league or development league to allow people to have individual involvement in the game through the purchase of micro-shares, and Mr. Hughes believes it could save the game. Normally, we are looking at young horses where Spendthrift would buy breeding rights, but now with MyRacehorse, we are also looking to buy racing rights.”

As testament to the widespread appeal that this could have with the general public, Toothaker recounted that the assistant pastor at the church where Toothaker and his family attend came up to him on Sunday to let him know that the clergyman had bought a share in Authentic.

Maybe those prayers made a difference in the stretch run of the Haskell. Either way, involvement of people not otherwise experienced in Thoroughbred ownership is a boon for the sport, and Authentic may prove an important educational and promotional marker for the popularity of the sport with this success and with anything else he accomplishes in the future.

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Bloodlines: Art Collector Preserves Greentree Stud Lineage

With a stylish 3 1/2-length victory over leading 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on July 11, Art Collector has moved into a position as one of the leading classic prospects of 2020 and is unbeaten in three consecutive races.

Actually, the handsome bay has finished in front in each of his last four races, stretching back to a blowout victory in a Nov. 30 allowance at Churchill Downs. After winning by 7 1/2 lengths, however, Art Collector was subsequently disqualified for the presence of a prohibited substance.

Transferred to trainer Tom Drury after that, Art Collector has continued his march to excellence with allowance victories this season on May 17 and June 13 at Churchill Downs, then skipped down I-64 to test those very positive-looking results against graded stakes company at Keeneland.

Never farther back than third in the 13-horse field, Art Collector had the lead at the stretch call and widened away from his competition to win in 1:48.11. Swiss Skydiver held second by 4 3/4 lengths from Rushie, and the form rather emphatically places Art Collector in the hunt for Kentucky Derby in September.

Bred in Kentucky by Bruce Lunsford, Art Collector races for his breeder. In taking his fourth official victory from eight starts, Art Collector became the first stakes winner for his dam, the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Legacy. She won three races at three and four, including the Sky Beauty Stakes at Belmont, and more importantly, Distorted Legacy was also second in the G1 Flower Bowl.

Distorted Legacy is one of two stakes winners out of the Private Account mare Bunting, who was second in the G1 Alcibiades Stakes. This is a family that performed nobly for decades at Greentree Stud and that got its start in the States with the importation of the Prince Bio mare Bebop, a half-sister to Oaks winner Sun Cap (Sunny Boy). Bebop herself had been third in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.

Bred to Greentree's Horse of the Year Tom Fool, Bebop's first foal was Bebopper, the first of eight consecutive fillies out of the dam, including stakes-placed Stepping High (No Robbery), the dam of multiple stakes winner and leading sire Buckaroo (Buckpasser). Bebopper did the most good for Greentree, however, with the major winners Stop the Music (Hail to Reason) and Hatchet Man (The Axe).

Stop the Music won the Dwyer and the Saratoga Special, then inherited the 1972 Champagne after Secretariat sort of intimidated him during the stretch run. Hatchet Man was later maturing than his half-brother but won the Dwyer at three, then also the G1 Widener and Haskell at five.

These were Bebopper's third and fourth foals; the mare's 11th foal was Flag Waver (Hoist the Flag), who won the 1983 Rampart Handicap at four and is the third dam of Art Collector. Flag Waver's first foal was stakes winner Abidjan (Sir Ivor) and her sixth was stakes-placed Bunting, the second dam of the Blue Grass winner.

Lunsford bought into this family with the acquisition of Bunting as a 3-year-old filly in training at the 1994 Keeneland November sale for $500,000. Bunting's first foal for Lunsford was the Storm Cat horse Vision and Verse. A rangy bay, Vision and Verse didn't win a lot of races but had a lot of class, winning the G2 Illinois Derby and finishing second in the G1 Belmont Stakes and Travers, third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. The horse earned more than $1 million and went to stud in Kentucky at Hill 'n' Dale Farm.

Bunting had a trio of black-type daughters, and the best of these was Distorted Legacy. Her sire, Distorted Humor, threw some speed into this very classic family, and even so, the best distance for Distorted Legacy was 10 to 12 furlongs. In addition to a good second to Stacelita in the Flower Bowl at 10 furlongs, Distorted Legacy was fourth, beaten a length for the victory, in the Breeders' Cup Filly Turf.

So there should be little concern about Art Collector's ability to handle the 10 furlongs of the Derby, and this colt is following the well-worn path of improvement laid down by Horse of the Year A.P. Indy and so many of his descendants, with good to reasonable form late at two, then radically accelerating improvement at three.

This is a classic colt winning a classic prep in the proper style, and he appears to be a potential masterpiece for the owner, trainer, and family.

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Bloodlines: Serpentine Tightens Galileo’s Grip On European Classics

After the classic results over the weekend in Europe, could any living sire be more emphatically the ruler of his domain than Galileo is in the classics and middle-distance races of Europe?

There is only one answer for that question, and to stamp his footprint firmly into the sands of time, Galileo had his fifth winner of the Derby at Epsom on July 4, as Serpentine tow-roped his field over the gradients and turns of Epsom and met the rising ground of the final furlongs like an old friend.

A splendid winner of a 10-furlong maiden race a week earlier, Serpentine raced through the finish of that race at the Curragh emphatically, nine lengths ahead of his nearest pursuer, and wasn't stopping after 12 furlongs in the Derby, either. Among his connections, particularly trainer Aiden O'Brien, the chestnut colt's stamina was never in doubt, and that was a point of primary difference between Serpentine and his better-known opponents in the Derby.

That, and the enterprising ride the colt received from jockey Emmet McNamara, who took O'Brien's assessment of the situation to heart and repeated the trainer's comments in a post-race interview: “Emmet, this colt could win the Derby. He's an even galloper, he'll probably stay a mile and six; so your best way of trying to win this race for yourself is to pop out and go an even gallop, but be clever about it, try to fill him up at the right points in the race, and get to the winning post and try to time it right.”

McNamara was able to follow those words of wisdom to the letter, and the jockey said that Serpentine “was after doing things in such a nice rhythm, and from the four- to the five-furlong pole, I was able to let him fill himself up, and he did it just beautiful. I let him keep rolling and build a little each furlong. The way he was lengthening, you know, I knew it was going to take a really good horse to get by him. If a horse is weakening, you can sometimes feel it a furlong or furlong and a half out.

“Aiden instilled that confidence in me” to ride the colt so positively for stamina and put the opposition to the test, McNamara said. “Aidan told me when he called to offer me the ride here, 'Emmet, this horse could win the Derby, and he was a hundred percent right.'”

In winning the English classic, Serpentine became the fifth winner of the race for his sire Galileo, who is the all-time leading sire of English Derby winners, and there will be at least four further crops by the great son of Sadler's Wells, even if the 22-year-old Galileo never covered another mare.

In addition to placing their sire alone at the top of sires of English Derby winners, Serpentine and Love made Aiden O'Brien the leading trainer by number of Derby winners and by total English classic victories.

O'Brien has trained eight winners of the Derby, beginning with Galileo in 2001, then High Chaparral (Sadler's Wells) in 2002, Camelot (Montjeu) in 2012, Ruler of the World (Galileo) in 2013, Australia (Galileo) in 2014, Wings of Eagles (Pour Moi) in 2017, and Anthony Van Dyck (Galileo) last year.

Serpentine races for Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, and the Derby winner was bred by Coolmore in Ireland. He is one of the four English Derby winners by Galileo that various Coolmore partnerships have bred or raced. New Approach is Galileo's only Derby winner not bred and raced by Coolmore and partners; that horse was bred by Lodge Park Stud and won the Derby for Princess Haya of Jordan.

It is also a fact that four of the five Derby winners by Galileo are chestnut: New Approach, Ruler of the World, Australia, and Serpentine. Only Anthony Van Dyck is a bay like his sire. Love is another noble chestnut from Coolmore's classic sire. Galileo inherited a chestnut gene from his dam, Arc de Triomphe winner Urban Sea (Miswaki), and passes that color trait on to half of his progeny, although a smaller percentage show it because chestnut is recessive.

The other chestnut gene that allows Serpentine to display the copper coat comes from his dam Remember When (Danehill Dancer). The chestnut mare did not win a race from six starts, but she finished second in the 2010 English Oaks behind Snow Fairy and was third in the McCalmont Memorial, fourth in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

So, Remember When was considerably better than an empty stall. When sent to stud, Remember When has proven notably better still. Serpentine is the mare's sixth foal, and five of the six are stakes winners: Group 2 winner Wedding Vow, Group 3 winner Beacon Rock, listed winner Bound, and Group 3 winner Bye Bye Baby, who was also third in the English Oaks behind champion Enable. All of Remember When's foals are by Galileo.

Remember When was, furthermore, a half-sister to Dylan Thomas (Danehill), who won the Irish Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and Arc de Triomphe; to Cheveley Park Stakes winner Queen's Logic (Grand Lodge); and to 1,000 Guineas winner Homecoming Queen (Holy Roman Emperor).

Their dam was the Diesis mare Lagrion, who failed to win from 14 starts.

This is a family of considerable attainment that tends to improve with maturity and distance. Serpentine adds another mark of distinction, and with two victories from only four starts, he should be able to continue to improve.

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Bloodlines: Versatile Tom’s D’Etat Defies Age, Convention With Continued Success

The career profile of Tom's d'Etat, winner of the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on June 27, is so contrary to the norm for racehorses here in the States that it begs for comment. The most obvious exception to the norm in the horse's resume is that he is racing at a very high level while age seven, and he is not a gelding.

So, “Y'zat,” as one of my young friends would say.

The simplest answer is that the $330,000 Keeneland September yearling began bucking the trends of modern racing early on and didn't race at two but then won six of nine starts at three, four, and five. “Various minor ailments or injuries,” according to the connections, kept the good-looking son of Smart Strike from racing more often. More importantly, of course, the horse showed ability, winning his maiden at Saratoga at three, then adding allowance victories at Fair Grounds, Churchill Downs, and Saratoga at four.

Beginning in November 2018 as a 5-year-old, Tom's d'Etat has been in steady racing, for him, and has maintained a high level of performance. When he returned to racing at five, Tom's d'Etat added a pair of victories: one was a fifth allowance, this at Churchill in November, and the second was the Tenacious Stakes at the Fair Grounds in December 2018. The Tenacious was the horse's ninth start and first black-type race. He's raced in nothing else since.

The “sheets” offer a further measure of the horse's ability and his steady level of performance over the past 20-odd months. From late 2018 to the present, according to the Thoro-Graph performance figures, Tom's d'Etat has earned a number above a zero, which is a very sharp number for the sheets, only once, when unplaced in his first experience of Grade 1 company in the 2019 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes. All the rest are negative 1s and 2s, and the number of horses who run negative numbers on the sheets is a tiny percentage of performers across the country; to run them consistently for more than two years is extraordinary.

The consistency of this horse's performances is a credit to trainer Al Stall, who has presented this horse at the races ready to give his best, and Tom's d'Etat has stayed sound and happy while maintaining the consistency of high-class form that has brought him victory in the G1 Clark, as well as the G2 Fayette and now the Stephen Foster.

Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock, Tom's d'Etat sold for $330,000 as a yearling, when he brought the seventh-highest price among 33 yearlings by the sire. Now the winner of more than $1.6 million, Tom's d'Etat looks like a pretty sound investment, and as a son of Smart Strike (Mr. Prospector), there could be more benefit to come.

The leading sire in the nation in 2007 and 2008, Smart Strike has proven a distinctive son of his great sire. The best of Smart Strike's stock have great speed and the ability to carry it, with both Curlin and Lookin at Lucky winning the Preakness Stakes and Curlin running a close second in the Belmont Stakes. Both were also champions at three, and in addition, Lookin at Lucky was the champion 2-year-old colt of his year.

Of equal importance, Smart Strike has been a very successful sire of stallions, with Horse of the Year and classic sire Curlin leading the list among the sons by Smart Strike. The stallion's additional champion sons English Channel and Lookin at Lucky have also struck gold on the sire lists, and they are significant sires of quality racers who have versatility with surface and distance.

Tom's d'Etat is out of the stakes-winning Julia Tuttle (Giant's Causeway), who is the best racer out of Candy Cane, an Argentine-bred full sister to leading sire Candy Ride (Ride the Rails). The dam of Candy Ride and Candy Cane is Candy Girl (Candy Stripes), a full sister to Argentine 2,000 Guineas winner City West. As a producer, Candy Girl is the dam of three major winners: the unbeaten Candy Ride, as well as the G3 stakes winners Candy Singer and Candy Apple.

This is a family that has shown the ability to race at the highest level at distances up to nine and 10 furlongs, on turf and dirt, in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. With Tom's d'Etat racing sound, there is apparently more to come.

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