With a relatively quiet weekend on the major stakes front, and the end of the year not too far away, its an opportune time to have a look at the leading freshman sires.
Yaupon (Uncle Mo) is the only one of this group to crack the top 10 leading sires of 2-year-olds by earnings, sitting in fourth as of Oct. 14. He's also the third-leading sires of 2-year-olds by winners, behind Not This Time and Mitole , and equal with Not This Time by stakes winners with five.
As a sprint specialist—his six wins came at six and seven furlongs—and including the 2021 Forego Stakes (G1), where he survived an attempt by Firenze Fire to savage him; and the 2020 Amsterdam Stakes (G2), 2020 Chick Lang Stakes (G3) and 2021 Lite the Fuse Stakes, and by the impactful sire of sires Uncle Mo, Yaupon always stood out as a member of the crop likely to make a good start, even though he himself was unraced at 2.
His stakes-winning quintet are Woodstock (dam by Medaglia d'Oro ), who took the E. L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes at Remington Park, by 10 1/2 lengths; Sassy C W (Tiznow), successful in the Prairie Gold Lassie Stakes and Astoria Stakes; Arctic Beast (Frost Giant), who has gone 3-for-3 against New York-breds, including a pair of black-type events at Finger Lakes; Crown the Buckeye (Unbridled's Song), winner of the Best of Ohio Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes; and Yaupon de Replay (Goldencents ), whose only start to date saw her capture the Blenheim Stakes at Fairyhouse in Ireland. We'll also note three stakes-placed horses, as well as Prosecco Rita (Lion Heart), who tallied by 9 1/4 lengths at Laurel Park Oct. 10; Local Knowledge (Scat Daddy), who prevailed in a 12-runner field at Keeneland on his debut Oct. 4; and Letmecounttheways (Dialed In ), who had 5 1/2 lengths to spare over fellow New York-breds on her debut in late September. Five of his 19 winners, including three of the black-type horses, are out of Storm Cat-line mares, two via Into Mischief .
There is nothing yet in the way of graded stakes black-type, but given that Yaupon himself didn't start at 2, the emergence of some promising early fall maiden winners, and the fact that more than 80 of Yaupon's first-crop offspring have yet to face the starter, that statistic should soon be amended.
Currently second by earnings is Maxfield (by Street Sense ), who shares a sire with one of last year's leading freshman—and current second-leading second-crop sire—McKinzie . Maxfield was undefeated in two outings at 2, including the 2019 Breeders' Futurity (G1), and in two more outings, the Tenacious Stakes and Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at 3. His juvenile promise was really fulfilled at 4, when he won four of seven outings, all in graded stakes, including the Clark Stakes (G1) and Stephen Foster Stakes (G2), and earned places in three grade 1 events.
Although he isn't a horse whose profile suggests that early runners will be his forte—he didn't debut until the September of his juvenile season—Maxfield does already have a stakes winner, Max Ciao (Flatter), who took the I'm Smokin Stakes at Del Mar, and four black-type placed horses, the most notable of which is the Frizette Stakes (G1) third Five Bars (Data Link). He also has the once-raced Englishman (Speightstown), who romped by 7 1/4 lengths at Churchill Downs on debut, earning a lofty 97 Beyer Speed Figure.
It's interesting to observe that Maxfield is out of a mare by A.P. Indy son, Bernardini, and five of his 14 winners are out of A.P. Indy-line mares, including not only Max Ciao, but also Magna Victor (Sky Mesa), a winner at Hanshin in Japan on his only start to date.
In third place is one of the less-anticipated—he stood at just $5,000 this year—members of the crop. This is Rock Your World (Candy Ride ) who, off an initial stud fee of $10,000, is one of only two horses in this group to be represented by a graded stakes winner, and who already has a group-topping 16 individual winners (some overseas results in Kazakhstan, Peru, and Russia included here are still be verified by The Jockey Club and are not yet included on BloodHorse sire lists). His graded winner is Taken by the Wind (First Samurai ), who is 2-for-2, including the Pocahontas Stakes (G3). Out of a mare by a son of Giant's Causeway, Taken by the Wind is bred on a version of the cross that produced Gun Runner . There are also three other stakes-placed horses, and the filly Camila Catalina (out of a mare by Run Away and Hide, also broodmare sire of Rock Your World's stakes-placed horse Oriole Way and cross, which doubles on the Mr. Prospector/Blushing Groom cross that produced Candy Ride), who took a restricted Keeneland maiden special weight by 4 1/2 lengths.
Even though he didn't start as a particularly commercial prospect, Rock Your World wasn't short of credentials. He won his first three starts, the third of which saw him take the 2021 Santa Anita Derby (G1) by 4 1/4 lengths over subsequently disqualified Kentucky Derby (G1) first-past-the-post Medina Spirit. In addition, he's by Candy Ride, also sire of Gun Runner and Twirling Candy , out of a stakes-winning daughter of grade 1 winner Empire Maker.
Knicks Go (Paynter) retired to stud with a ton of race record, and rather less pedigree. Winner of the 2018 Breeders' Futurity and runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) at 2, he struggled in his 3-year-old season, but rebounded to take six graded stakes at 4 and 5, including the 2021 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), 2020 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), and 2021 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1). On the pedigree side, he's by Paynter, a grade 1-winning son of Awesome Again, who has sired only four other graded winners, out of Kosmo's Buddy, who was a multiple sprint stakes winner, but who is by the nonwinning Outflanker.
Knicks Go has 15 individual winners, headed by Ewing (Indian Charlie), who is 2-for-2, including the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2). He also has La Culasse (Holy Bull), third in the Natalma Stakes (G1T). He also had three new maiden special weight winners in September.
In fifth is the horse who was champion of this crop at 2 and 3, Essential Quality (Tapit ). Although he was champion at 2, winning the 2020 Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile, as a Belmont Stakes (G1) winner by Tapit, he's not a horse who would be expected to get early 2-year-old sprinters. That said, he does already have a pair of black-type winners: Essential Time (Twirling Candy), who broke his maiden in the Clever Trevor Stakes at Remington on the second of two starts, and Chopsticks (More Than Ready). He's another, who, as one might expect, is building momentum through the fall, with five maiden special weight winners in September (plus the previously mentioned stakes win for Essential Time), and another in October.
Beau Liam (Liam's Map ) won his first three starts, one at Churchill Downs and two at Saratoga Race Course, before finishing second in the 2021 Ack Ack Stakes (G3) as a 3-year-old against older horses, on his only other start. He started off at just $6,000 and in that light he's made a very promising start with 14 winners, including Border Czar (Street Boss), successful in the My Dear Stakes at Woodbine, and Lanaluah, who took the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity, as well as two stakes-placed horses, including The Publican's Son, runner-up in the Round Tower Stakes (G3) in Ireland on his debut.
Independence Hall (Constitution ) romped by 12 1/4 lengths in the Nashua Stakes (G3) at 2. He never parlayed that into a grade 1 victory, but did add the Jerome Stakes at 3, and the Fayette Stakes (G2) at 4. He has nine winners, including recent Keeneland maiden special weight winner, Sleepingonfreedom (Tiznow), as well as the stakes-placed maiden Civil Liberty, third in the Del Mar Futurity (G1), also out of a Tiznow mare, a mating that gives Relaunch and his sister Moon Glitter, a pattern found in other Tapit/Tiznow crosses such as classic winner Tiz the Law and graded scorers, Tiztastic, Parchment Party, and We the People.
Leading regional freshman is Florida's Leinster (Majestic Warrior). He has five winners from 19 starters, including Lennilu (Pomeroy), successful in the FTBOA Florida Sire Desert Vixen Stakes, Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes, and Hollywood Beach Stakes, and third in the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) at Ascot Racecourse; and the stakes-placed Monster (Kantharos ) and Squire (Lucky Pulpit). By a son of A.P. Indy, and half brother to 2018 champion turf male Stormy Liberal, Leinster was a four-time graded winner at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf, twice in course-record time.
Ninth and 10th spots are occupied by Raging Bull (Dark Angel) and Modernist (Uncle Mo). Raging Bull, a European-bred son of the very successful speed sire, Dark Angel, won three grade 1 events in the United States. He is already sire of a pair of multiple stakes-placed horses in Proletariat, twice graded stakes-placed, and Jutland (War Front ). 2020 Risen Star Stakes (G2) and 2021 Excelsior Stakes (G3) winner Modernist has six winners, including stakes-placed Grazie (Daaher).
The others in this group to already sire black-type winners are Basin (Liam's Map), who has Iowa Sorority Stakes scorer Somavia (Wavering Monarch); Lexitonian (Speightstown), represented by Prairie Meadows Debutante Stakes victress Ritzaphena (Desert Party); and California's Listing (Square Eddie), who from a crop 12 foals has three starters, three winners, and two black-type horses, including Jasmina (Momentum), successful in the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Stakes.
