Into Mischief’s summer stock rises at Saratoga, Del Mar

Into Mischief was among the leading juvenile sires of 2017 by a number of measures, and is again establishing a stellar season with his young runners, standing out on both coasts as Del Mar and Saratoga opened their boutique summer meetings over the past week.

Into Mischief’s son Sombeyay won the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes on the first Saturday of the Saratoga meet. Later that evening, the Spendthrift Farm stallion’s Rowayton won a maiden special weight at Del Mar.

Into Mischief has posted five individual 2-year-old winners this season, and that group already included Instagrand, who established the highest Beyer Speed Figure of the year thus far for a juvenile, an 88, when he romped by 10 lengths in his debut on June 29 at Los Alamitos. The colt sold for $1.2 million at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale.

Into Mischief is by the late Harlan’s Holiday, whose sons and grandsons are proving to be a valuable source of precocity worldwide. Harlan’s Holiday’s son Shanghai Bobby, an Eclipse Award-winning juvenile, is emerging as a prominent international sire for the Coolmore operation. In addition to several stakes performers in North America, he was represented by a second-crop juvenile winner at the renowned Royal Ascot meeting last month in England, as his daughter Shang Shang Shang defeated males in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes. Shanghai Bobby also shuttles to Brazil, where, from his first Southern Hemisphere crop, he is represented by a pair of Group 1-winning juveniles.

Continuing the Harlan’s Holiday line, Into Mischief has a handful of sons coming to the stallion ranks, including his two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents. Goldencents stands alongside him at Spendthrift and is leading the freshman sire standings. Goldencents already has seven winners from his first crop, including stakes winner Pickett and stakes-placed Silvercents, for a bankroll of $297,233 through Sunday. He easily leads Ocala Stud’s Uncaptured, sire of Saratoga’s Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes winner Catherinethegreat, in both categories. Uncaptured has four winners and $262,450.

Brill a hit in debut

Brill was a seven-figure purchase as a yearling last summer, and indicated that she is prepared to live up to high expectations with an impressive debut victory on opening day at Del Mar.

Despite bobbling at the start and coming wide into the stretch, the Medaglia d’Oro filly scored a handy 1 1/4-length victory for owner Larry Best’s OXO Equine and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Brill was awarded a Beyer Speed Figure of 88, matching Instagrand’s top number for a juvenile thus far this season.

Brill, who is the first foal out of the stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Hung the Moon, sold for $1 million to Best at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale. That matched the top price ever for a filly at the sale, joining Al Bayan, a Northern Dancer filly who sold to H.T. Jones for $1 million in 1982. The filly was the most expensive yearling sold at the July sale since 2006, when the Forestry colt Participate sold to Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum for $1.2 million.

Nitrous pays down $300K fee

Perennial leading sire Tapit’s stud fee rose to $300,000 at Gainesway Farm in 2015, making him the most expensive stallion in North America. The first foals conceived on that fee are juveniles of 2018, and Tapit recorded his fourth winner from this crop when Nitrous posted an impressive maiden victory on the first Saturday card of the Saratoga meet. The colt was given a 75 Beyer Speed Figure for the win.

Nitrous was bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds, which campaigned Tapit and maintains a major interest in his stud career at Gainesway Farm. Stonestreet Farm then bought into this colt in partnership. Nitrous is trained by Steve Asmussen, who has handled many of Tapit’s standout offspring, including Winchell homebred champion Untapable and Belmont Stakes winner Creator.

Nitrous finished second on debut last month at Churchill Downs, beaten a neck by Strike Silver, who returned to run a close second in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes, also on Saturday’s Saratoga card. Prior to that, however, Nitrous streaked to a 3 1/4-length Saturday maiden win as the favorite.

Nitrous is the first foal out of the Grade 3-placed multiple stakes winner Speedinthruthecity. The City Zip mare is from the family of Grade 1-winning juvenile Dawn of War.