At this point in his record-setting stud career, Into Mischief's rivals are not only his contemporaries - who he outdistanced again to claim his fourth straight North American sire title in 2022 while again breaking his own single-season earnings mark. He is starting to reach a position of comparison to some of the legends of the industry. A stout bay, Into Mischief was a Grade 1 winner in the colors of the late B. Wayne Hughes before becoming a linchpin for his Spendthrift Farm operation in Lexington, Ky. Not counting his four titles, only a trio of North American stallions since 1990 have claimed three. The late Danzig was leading sire from 1991-1993 for Claiborne Farm. The late Giant’s Causeway earned titles in 2009, 2010, and 2012 at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, and Gainesway’s Tapit led from 2014 to 2016, setting the earnings record that Into Mischief has surpassed. No stallion on this continent has earned as many titles as Into Mischief for half a century. The great Nasrullah was a five-time leading sire, in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, and 1962. His son Bold Ruler was even more dominant, leading the list seven straight years, from 1963 to 1969. He claimed an eighth title posthumously in 1973, the year his son Secretariat dominated the Triple Crown, the 50th anniversary of which will be celebrated this year. Into Mischief thus continues to validate the hopes Hughes, who died in 2021, had that his stallion would be a historically important one. “If Wayne were here to reflect,” Hughes’s son-in-law Eric Gustavson, who has taken on the mantle of farm owner, said in a previous interview, “he might shake his head and echo something he said early on about his success as a stallion – ‘Into Mischief might be the next Northern Dancer.’ “At this point, we can only be thankful for what we have had in Into Mischief. He certainly owes us nothing. I have zero expectations of him. He is already one of the best ever.” Into Mischief dominated a number of stallion metrics in 2022. ◗ He led the North American general sires list by earnings, with his progeny bankrolling $28,519,963 to the $20,962,050 of Lane’s End’s Quality Road – despite that sire’s Emblem Road winning the world’s richest race, the $20 million Saudi Cup. Into Mischief, whose top earner was Life Is Good, with a bankroll in excess of $3.4 million, broke the North American single-season earnings record for the third consecutive year. His previous high-water mark was $25,001,235 from 2021. ◗ Into Mischief led the nation by winners, 235 to 163, over Coolmore’s Munnings, and by stakes winners, 27 to 15, again over Munnings. ◗ Indicating that his future remains bright, Into Mischief led by 2-year-old earnings in 2022 with $4,803,602. His top earner was Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Wonder Wheel. Spendthrift Farm stablemate Bolt d’Oro was second, with $2,815,623 in earnings in his freshman season. This is the fifth time Into Mischief has led the 2-year-old list, adding to titles from 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. He was second on the list in 2021, as Three Chimneys’s white-hot young Gun Runner set a juvenile earnings record of $4,315,980. Into Mischief’s 2022 earnings broke that record. ◗ Showing his versatility, Into Mischief was third among living North American sires by turf earnings, and was third among Kentucky stallions by synthetic earnings. “Into Mischief has shown he can get any kind,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said recently. Tops by Beyer performance Into Mischief was also among the leaders in a number of categories on the Beyer Sire Performance Standings, Daily Racing Form’s exclusive stallion metrics. The Beyer Speed Figures made their published debut in The Racing Times in 1991 and were incorporated into Daily Racing Form’s past performances in 1992, becoming an industry standard for the comparison of one horse’s performance to another, and to describe the level of a horse’s effort beyond raw times and finish positions. The Beyer Sire Performance Standings provide totals and percentages for stallions’ progeny who surpass specific Beyer Speed Figure benchmarks in North American races. While traditional sire lists based on earnings can be slanted by one or two major stakes victories or inflated purses on some circuits, these may be less skewed; Beyers are assigned to all runners in a race, allowing DRF’s sire lists to include all performances. ◗ Into Mischief’s progeny recorded the most benchmark Beyers of 90 or higher across all races, with 115 such figures to 81 for Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Curlin. ◗ Into Mischief also had the most winners to record those 90-plus figures, with 50 to again outdistance Curlin, at 30. He was second by horses to reach the next rung with triple-digit Beyers. ◗ Among 2-year-olds, an 80-plus Beyer is considered the benchmark figure. Into Mischief recorded 13 such figures to lead the list, against 12 for Hill ‘n’ Dale freshman Good Magic. ◗ Into Mischief had the most juveniles from his leading crop produce 80-plus figures, with nine, to six for Good Magic. ◗ Into Mischief tied with Juddmonte’s late Arrogate with four 90-plus figures from his 2022 juveniles. However, Into Mischief’s figures were spread out among three individuals, to two each for Good Magic, Quality Road, Coolmore’s Uncle Mo, and Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Ghostzapper. Cave Rock was the only runner by Arrogate to record a 90. 17 graded/group winners Into Mischief recorded 17 graded/group stakes winners, with three of those being Grade 1 winners, in his latest record-setting season. Overall, the stallion is the sire of 131 career stakes winners through Jan. 22, including seven champions worldwide, for total progeny earnings of $139,650,730. ◗ Life Is Good was a three-time graded stakes winner in 2021, including the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He won four graded stakes and was his sire’s leading earner in 2022, with Grade 1 wins in the Pegasus World Cup, Whitney, and Woodward. ◗ Wonder Wheel captured the Grade 1 Alcibiades before taking the Juvenile Fillies, giving her sire seven Breeders’ Cup wins – tied with Gainesway’s Tapit and WinStar’s late More Than Ready for the most wins in the event’s history. Wonder Wheel became her sire’s fourth Eclipse Award champion in the Jan. 26 ceremony, joining Authentic, Covfefe, and Gamine. ◗ Gina Romantica won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on the Keeneland turf. ◗ Mandaloun was promoted to the victory in the 2021 Kentucky Derby on the disqualification of Medina Spirit – making Into Mischief, officially, the first stallion to sire back-to-back winners, following 2020 hero Authentic. Mandaloun was a graded stakes winner in 2022, taking the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes. ◗ The exciting 2-year-old Hoosier Philly completed her unbeaten campaign by winning the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes. ◗ Into Mischief’s other graded/group stakes winners in 2022 were Barraza, Frank’s Rockette, Fulsome, Gerrymander, Highly Motivated, Lady T, Laurel River, Man of Promise, My Prankster, Naughty Gal, Played Hard, and Private Mission. A dynasty in the making Into Mischief’s first son to stud was two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents, who stands alongside him at Spendthrift. Goldencents has been among the leaders of his class since his first runners debuted in 2018. Multiple Grade 1 winner Practical Joke, standing under the Coolmore banner, was second on the 2021 freshman earnings list and 2022 second-crop list to Three Chimneys’ record-setting Gun Runner. Both of those stallions went to stud before Into Mischief claimed his first leading sire title, and now that he has ascended, his stock is even more in demand. Some of his standouts are now in the pipeline, including multiple Grade 1 winner Audible (WinStar Farm) and graded stakes winner Maximus Mischief (Spendthrift Farm), both of whom will have their first runners in the coming season. Meanwhile, champion Authentic (Spendthrift), well-bred Honest Mischief (Sequel Stallions), graded stakes winner Instagrand (Taylor Made Farm), and Grade 1-placed Rowayton (Taylor Made) will all have their first yearlings to the sales rings this year. Graded stakes winners Engage (Northview Stallion Station) and Sombeyay (Swifty Farms) and Grade 1-placed Shoplifted (Valor Farm) all have their first foals arriving this year in regional markets. Life Is Good (WinStar Farm) enters the stallion ranks this year, with his $100,000 advertised fee the second highest of the season. Other sons of Into Mischief retiring to stud this year include Highly Motivated (Airdrie Stud), Mandaloun (Juddmonte), and graded stakes winner Mutasaabeq (Darby Dan Farm). Storm Cat line surges Into Mischief is a great-grandson of the legendary sire Storm Cat, whose sireline was prominent in 2022. Storm Cat, bred and raced by William T. Young, reigned at Young’s Overbrook Farm until his death in 2013. He was multiple times a leading sire and leading broodmare sire. Although Storm Cat was represented by several solid sons at stud, his only leading sire in North America was European Horse of the Year Giant’s Causeway, who led the standings three times. But Storm Cat’s other prominent sons included Young’s Grade 1-winning homebred Harlan – best known for siring multiple Grade 1 winners Harlan’s Holiday and Menifee. Menifee went on to be a leading sire in Korea, while Harlan’s Holiday, who died young at age 14, left a number of prominent horses behind, including champion Shanghai Bobby; Grade 1 winner and four-time leading sire Into Mischief; Grade 1 winner Majesticperfection, sire of Kentucky Oaks winner Lovely Maria; and versatile young stallion Good Samaritan. Giant’s Causeway died in 2018 at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, and many of his best sons have stood overseas, including European standout Shamardal and Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, now in Japan. But his branch of the Storm Cat line found a promising offshoot in the U.S. in 2022, as his graded stakes winner Not This Time, standing at Taylor Made Farm, checked in 10th behind Into Mischief on the general sire list. A third-crop sire, Not This Time was represented in 2022 by Grade 1 winners Epicenter and Just One Time, among seven graded stakes winners. Epicenter heads to stud at Ashford for 2022, continuing to grow that branch.