Freshman Sires in the 2024 Breeders' Cup

Nine freshman stallions account for sixteen of this year's Breeders' Cup pre-entrants

Sixteen of the 81 two-year-olds pre-entered in this year’s Breeders’ Cup are by first crop stallions, and there are nine freshman stallions with Breeders’ Cup pre-entries. Today, I’ll be looking at these stallions and the foals that could help them cement their place in the competitive stallion market by showcasing their talent on racing’s biggest stage.

The nine freshman stallions with foals pre-entered in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup include the top five current leading stallions - Tiz the Law, Vekoma, McKinzie, Complexity, and Thousand Words - as well as Improbable, Game Winner, Win Win Win, and Bobby’s Wicked One. Tiz the Law leads not only the current freshman sire rankings but also leads by number of Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants, with four. Vekoma and McKinzie, second and third respectively on the freshman sire rankings at the time of writing, each have three pre-entrants.

Tiz the Law

Tiz the Law is the current leading freshman sire, with progeny earnings of $2,203,987. He has gotten 17 winners from 40 to race (42.5%), with five black type winners (12.5% of runners) and seven black type horses (17.5%). He is the sire of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint pre-entrant Out on Bail, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies pre-entrant Non Compliant, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf pre-entrants Scythian and Tigerish.

It’s interesting that Tiz the Law has been getting a good mixture of dirt and turf runners, similarly to his sire, who has been very successful as a turf sire, particularly in Chile. Tiz the Law was a G1 winner at two and three, and he should be able to get runners who stretch out successfully, as he himself was a G1 winner at a mile and a quarter.

Notably, Skidmore Stakes winner Out on Bail is out of a mare by Street Cry, while Oak Leaf Stakes winner Non Compliant is out of a mare by Street Cry’s son Street Sense. Tiz the Law’s sire Constitution is also the sire of stakes winner Tripolina out of a mare by the Street Cry stallion Street Boss. Non Compliant’s dam, Sensitively, was graded stakes placed in the 2017 Adoration Stakes.

Miss Grillo Stakes winner Scythian is out of a mare by Empire Maker, putting her on the same cross as five other stakes winners in just 29 starters on the cross of Constitution and his sons with mares carrying Empire Maker. Scythian is a half-sister to stakes placed runner Bonita Cat, by Tale of the Cat.

Tigerish is unlikely to draw into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf field, as she’s sixth on the also eligible list, but the third place finisher in the Surfer Girl Stakes is out of a mare by Woodman. Tigerish is a full sister to two-time G1 Rodeo Drive Stakes winner Avenge (War Front), graded stakes winner Liguria (War Front) and stakes winner Lira (Giant’s Causeway).

Vekoma

Vekoma is currently ranked second on the freshman sire list, just behind Tiz the Law with $2,044,537 in progeny earnings. He is the sire of the most winners of any freshman sire, with 29 winners in 64 starters (45.3%), and has four black type winners (6.3% of starters) and nine total black type runners (14.1%). He leads all freshman sires by number of black type horses, with nine. He is the sire of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile pre-entrant Jonathan’s Way, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf pre-entrant Vixen, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and Juvenile Turf pre-entrant Mi Bago.

Vekoma himself is bred to be an elite stallion - he’s a son of G1 winner Candy Ride, who is already a proven sire of sires with sons such as Gun Runner and Twirling Candy at stud, and he’s out of the G1 winning Speightstown mare Mona de Momma. He also comes from the immediate female family of the excellent sires Mr. Greeley and Street Sense. He was a brilliant miler who was also able to win the Blue Grass Stakes at a mile and an eighth. I think it’s very possible his foals will prove to have some distance limitations, but it’s clear that he is passing on the same type of brilliance he showed on the racetrack.

Like Tiz the Law, Vekoma has already gotten two stakes winners bred on the same cross - Iroquois Stakes winner Jonathan’s Way and Algonquin Stakes winner Mi Bago are both out of mares by Indian Charlie. This puts them on the same cross as Candy Ride’s G1 winners Geaux Rocket Ride (out of a mare by Indian Charlie’s son Uncle Mo) and Game Winner (out of an Indian Charlie second dam).

Both Jonathan’s Way and Mi Bago also come from elite female families. Jonathan’s Way’s fifth dam On The Trail is the tail-female ancestor of 46 stakes winners, including 14 at the G1 level. His second dam, Newhall Road, is bred very similarly to the dam of Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos - both are granddaughters of On The Trail’s daughter Regal Road, both are by Dixieland Band and out of mares by Roberto. Mi Bago traces to the Far Beyond branch of family 12c, which is responsible for 59 total stakes winners and 8 G1 winners.

Mi Bago’s second dam is a daughter of A.P. Indy, whose influence is also found in the deeper pedigree of G1 Natalma Stakes runner-up Vixen, whose third dam is by that stallion. She is out of a mare by the Galileo stallion Noble Mission. She traces to the Native Partner branch of family 7 via Doubles Partner, making her from the female family of horses such as G1 Just a Game Stakes winner Centre Court (a half-sister to Vixen’s second dam) and two-time Japanese G1 winner Eagle Cafe.

McKinzie

McKinzie is currently third on the first-crop sire list, with $1,847,504 in earnings. His foals seem to have taken a little more time to heat up than stallions such as Vekoma, but they have certainly come into their own. Although only 14 of his 54 starters have won (25.9%) and he’s gotten just two stakes winners (3.7%), both of those stakes winners were G1 winners, and he has three additional black type runners (9.3%). I’ve been very excited about McKinzie as a stallion and believe that they will continue to improve with distance and maturity.

McKinzie’s Chancer McPatrick, who is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, was victorious in both the G1 Hopeful and Champagne Stakes, and you can read more about him in my pedigree profile here. McKinzie is also the sire of G1 Frizette winner and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies hopeful Scottish Lassie. Scottish Lassie is out of a mare by the Empire Maker stallion Bodemeister. Empire Maker is the damsire of two stakes winners by Street Sense, and in total there have been three stakes winners in 19 starters on the Street Sense/Empire Maker cross (15.8%).

Also pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies is G1 Alcibiades Stakes runner-up Quickick. She’s out of the Graeme Hall mare Graeme Six a half-sister to G3 Rampart Stakes winner Cali Star, a daughter of McKinzie’s grandsire Street Cry, as well as to graded stakes winner Delightful Joy (Tapit) and stakes winner Seymourdini (Bernardini).

Complexity

I talked about Complexity back in July, after his first graded stakes winner Mo Plex won the Sanford Stakes. He currently ranks fourth on the freshman sire list, with $1,589,876 in earnings. Eighteen of his 42 starters have won (42.9%), with three stakes winners (7.1%) and six black type horses (14.3%). He is unlikely to have a starter in the Breeders’ Cup without multiple defections, as his Kale’s Angel would be the last horse to draw into either the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf or Juvenile Turf Sprint. He was last seen finishing fourth in the Zuma Beach Stakes off an impressive maiden special weight win going five furlongs on the turf at Del Mar.

Complexity is a son of Maclean’s Music, who has yet to get a stakes winner in 26 starters out of mares carrying Kale’s Angel’s damsire Malibu Moon. However, the broader Maclean’s Music/A.P. Indy cross is responsible for 11 stakes winners in 220 starters (5%). Kale’s Angel’s dam Love Affair is a half sister to the stakes winning sprinter Ready to Repeat (More Than Ready).

Thousand Words

Thousand Words’ Vodka With a Twist is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and looks to improve on her sire’s $1,141,298 in progeny earnings, which ranks him fifth among first crop sires. He is the sire of 15 winners in 52 starters (28.8%), with two stakes winners (3.8%) and four black type horses (7.7%).

Thousand Words was a graded stakes winner at both two and three and comes from a solid female family, being out of the talented multiple graded stakes winning sprinter Pomeroy’s Pistol. Vodka With a Twist is out of a mare by Sky Mesa and a Speightstown second dam. She’s bred on the same Pioneerof the Nile/Pulpit cross as 11 other stakes winners in 141 starters (8.5%), including American Pharoah’s G1 winner Harvey’s Lil Goil, who was out of a mare by Tapit. A winner of the Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs back in June, she’s followed that effort up with two second place efforts in graded stakes company at Del Mar, most recently defeated by just a nose in the G1 Del Mar Debutante.

Improbable

Although Improbable tragically passed away earlier this year, the son of City Zip has the three-time stakes winner Governor Sam pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. He is the sire of ten winners in 50 starters (20%), with a single stakes winner (2%) and one additional black type runner (4%). He ranks ninth on the leading freshman sire list with $868,810 in progeny earnings.

Improbable was a G1 winner at both two and four, and it would not be surprising to see his foals improve with age and distance. Despite being a son of City Zip, who tends toward being a sprint influence, he was a G1 winner at up to ten furlongs and got stamina on the bottom of his pedigree from his A.P. Indy dam Rare Event. He was a member of the same female family as the excellent sire Hard Spun, tracing to Hard Spun’s dam Turkish Tryst as his third dam. Governor Sam is out of the multiple stakes winning turf runner I’m Betty G, a daughter of Into Mischief. Her 2021 foal, Pin Up Betty (Constitution) is also a stakes winner on the turf.

Game Winner

The sire of just six winners from 36 starters to date (16.7%) and only a single black type horse (2.8%), Game Winner has still proven that he can get an elite runner, as that one black type runner is G1 Del Mar Futurity winner Gaming, who is pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Himself a champion at two and a graded stakes winner at three, Game Winner is a son of Candy Ride out of the A.P. Indy mare Indyan Giving, who is also the dam of G1 winning sprinter Flagstaff (Speightstown). His second dam Fleet Indian, was a champion and millionaire. He comes from the Striking branch of La Troienne’s family 1x.

Gaming is bred on the same Candy Ride/Johannesburg cross as three other stakes winners in 31 starters (12.9%), and comes from the Valoris branch of the prominent Lowe family 5h. Valoris, Gaming’s fourth dam, is the tail-female ancestor of 15 stakes winners, including six G1 winners.

Win Win Win

Win Win Win stands for just $5,000 at Ocala Stud in Florida but has been off to a solid start as a stallion. He’s the sire of six winners in 30 starters (30%) and has two stakes winners (10%) among those, including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies pre-entrant Nooni, who won the G3 Sorrento in her second career start and was most recently second in the G2 Oak Leaf Stakes. As I mentioned when highlighting Win Win Win’s two-time winner Popstyle in the OBS March Sale - the same sale where Nooni sold for $1.8 million, - he’s very interesting as a member of the Sunday Silence sire line and seems to fit in Florida.

Nooni is out of a daughter of Union Rags and traces to the G1 winner and reine-de-course Pretty Discreet as her third dam. Pretty Discreet is the tail-female ancestor of ten stakes winners and was the dam of G1 winner Discreet Cat and Discreetly Mine and the second dam of G1 winner Awesome Maria. Since 2011, six of the 58 starters tracing tail-female to Pretty Discreet have been stakes winners (10.3%).

Bobby’s Wicked One

With only two foals to race, it’s very impressive that Bobby’s Wicked One has gotten a talented runner like Smoken Wicked, who is seventh on the also-eligible list for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and will most likely contest an allowance optional claiming race at Churchill Downs this weekend, but is a testament to his sire, who stands for $3,500 at Aztec Equine in Louisiana. After breaking his maiden on debut by 7 1/2 lengths, the Dallas Stewart trainee has contested four straight stakes races, picking up black type placings in the Bashford Manor and Saratoga Special and finishing fourth in both the Hopeful and Champagne Stakes.

Bobby’s Wicked One did his best running as a four-year-old, winning the G3 Commonwealth and finishing second in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes that year. The son of Speightstown is out of a Ghostzapper half-sister to the champion and excellent sire English Channel.

Smoken Wicked is out of the winning Street Boss mare Street Smoke. There are only two stakes winners in 53 starters on the Speightstown/Street Cry cross, but Munnings’ multiple graded stakes winner Venetian Harbor is out of a mare by Street Cry.