Graded-placed stakes-winning sprinter Honest Mischief has been retired to Sequel Stallions New York where he will stand for $6,500.
The 4-year-old son of leading North American sire Into Mischief is a homebred for Juddmonte Farms, who produced the colt out of the Seattle Slew grade 1 winner Honest Lady. The mare is a half sister to four graded stakes winners, including Belmont Stakes (G1) winner and influential sire Empire Maker and grade 1 winners Chiselling and Chester House.
Honest Mischief broke his maiden in his second start by eight lengths at Keeneland and earned an outstanding 2 Ragozin number and a 113 Equibase Speed Figure. He finished third in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) two starts later and earned a black-type victory by taking the Force the Pass City of Laurel Stakes at Laurel Park. This year at 4, he was second to brilliantly fast Volatile in the Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs where the final time was only 2/100ths of a second off the track record for six furlongs. Honest Mischief retires with a 4-3-1 record out of nine career starts and earnings of $287,464.
"Honest Mischief identified himself very early as one of the best dirt prospects of his crop in our barn," said trainer Chad Brown. "He proved to be very fast, durable, and consistent in both the mornings and afternoons. He has all the qualities my really good Into Mischiefs have. I have never had a horse run a 2 Rag number so early in his 3-year-old year. He was very, very fast."
Honest Mischief hails from two of the most significant families in the stud book as the grandson of Broodmares of the Year Toussaud, the dam of Honest Lady, and Leslie's Lady, the dam of Into Mischief. Honest Lady carried on the brilliance shown by her graded stakes-winning siblings by winning the Santa Monica Handicap (G1) and running second against males in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) and Metropolitan Handicap (G1). As a broodmare, Honest Lady also produced grade 1 winner First Defence and stakes winners Phantom Rose and Honest Quality.
"Honest Mischief's pedigree epitomizes the simplistic Juddmonte approach of matching the world's best dirt stallion with Prince Khalid's best dirt family," said Garrett O'Rourke, manager of Juddmonte Farms. "Honest Mischief was pegged as a real talent by our exercise riders from the very beginning. He had raw speed, he was sound, and he had desire. He placed behind stars like Shancelot and Volatile at the top of their games and when he won, he won like a grade 1 horse. Honest Mischief has such a genetic concentration of classic talent, on top and bottom of his pedigree, that expectation of his success at stud is just a given."
Sequel Stallions' Becky Thomas said she is a big fan of Into Mischief and honored to stand Honest Mischief with the support and participation of Juddmonte.
"Into Mischief is the most dominant sire of our times, rocketing to stardom from the very ordinary mares originating from his first books," Thomas said. "To stand at stud the son of such an incredible sire as well as the magnificent female family Honest Mischief exhibits is beyond exciting."
