Into Mischief, War Front, Speightstown Top BC '19 Sires

Claiborne Farm's leading sire War Front , WinStar Farm's Speightstown , and Spendthrift Farm's marquee sire Into Mischief  lead the Breeders' Cup World Championships sire roster as of Oct. 29 with five entrants apiece.

They are among six stallions that could be represented by at least four starters during the two-day event at Santa Anita Park Nov. 1-2.

Lauded primarily for his successful turf runners, War Front earlier this year proved he could get elite runners on dirt as well through the exploits of Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will and Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Omaha Beach . Most of the sire's Breeders' Cup contenders will take their tests on the grass but War of Will and Omaha Beach will attempt to keep the dirt streak going in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), respectively.

War of Will hit a two-race lull following the Preakness but comes into the Breeders' Cup with momentum off a close third in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) behind Math Wizard and Mr. Money. Math Wizard also has been entered in the Classic while Mr. Money has been aimed for the Dirt Mile.

Omaha Beach might have been the favorite in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) but an entrapped epiglottis kept him out of the classic. He returned to racing in the Oct. 5 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G1), in which he overcame a bobble at the start and rallied to win by a head.

Out of 35 previous starters, War Front got his sole Breeders' Cup winner in 2015 when Hit It a Bomb  captured the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T). The sire has had 11 Breeders' Cup starters compete on dirt, and Declaration of War gave the best performance so far with a third in the 2013 Classic behind Mucho Macho Man  and Will Take Charge .

The other 2019 Breeders' Cup entrants by War Front all hail from the barn of top international trainer Aidan O'Brien. They include Fort Myers in the Juvenile Turf, King Neptune in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2T), and Etoile in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T).

Speightstown achieved his own Breeders' Cup glory when he won the 2004 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Lone Star Park, so it seems natural to see three of his five entrants in sprint races.

His sprinting contenders are Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings' homebreds grade 1-placed Dawn the Destroyer in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) and undefeated stakes winner Cambria in the Juvenile Turf Sprint; and Tsuyoshi Ono's Sprint challenger Matera Sky, who was runner-up earlier this year in the Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Gulf News (G1).

The other two Speightstown entries are competing on the Friday card—Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway have Sharing in Juvenile Fillies Turf, and Ono is racing Full Flat in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).

Speightstown has been represented previously by 27 Breeders' Cup starters, getting his sole winner to date in 2016 when Tamarkuz  won the Dirt Mile.

Into Mischief, currently North America's leading sire by earnings and number of winners, has his largest contingent of Breeders' Cup starters this year.

They include Covfefe, who is four for five this year and the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) 2-1 favorite; grade 1-placed Comical in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1); Ohio Derby (G3) winner Owendale in the Classic; grade 2 winner Engage in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1); and, grade 1-placed Shoplifted in the Juvenile.

The 14-year-old son of Harlan's Holiday has had nine starters previously in the Breeders' Cup, with a contingent of three in the 2018 World Championships. Six-time graded stakes winner Goldencents , from Into Mischief's first crop, became the sire's first Breeders' Cup winner when he captured the 2013 Dirt Mile. Goldencents came back for more in 2014 and took the Dirt Mile again, becoming one of 21 horses to win more than one Breeders' Cup race.

Goldencents, who also stands at Spendthrift Farm, is also represented in this year's Breeders' Cup by prominent Dirt Mile contender Mr. Money, who strung together four consecutive graded stakes wins earlier in the year and comes into the World Championships off a close second in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1).

Another WinStar stallion, internationally renowned More Than Ready , is one of four sires represented in this year's Breeders' Cup by four contenders. The other three stallions are Spendthrift Farm's Into Mischief  (currently the leading North American sire by progeny earnings), Coolmore Stud's freshman sire No Nay Never, and the late City Zip, who stood at Lane's End before he died in 2017.

Among these four stallions, More Than Ready's Breeders' Cup record shines most brightly because he has sired a record six Breeders' Cup winners, an honor he shares with Unbridled's Song and Sadler's Wells.

More Than Ready's Breeders' Cup starters have found the most success in turf races, which produced four of his winners to date. The sire's two dirt wins actually came from the same horse—Roy H, who won the Sprint consecutively in 2017-18.

This year, More Than Ready has three competing on the grass and three are juveniles. The sire's turf entrants are multiple grade 1 winner Uni in the TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), grade 2 winner Selflessly in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and listed stakes winner Hit the Road in the Juvenile Turf. The only dirt challenger is two-time graded-placed Scabbard in the Juvenile.

Among this year's freshman sires, Irish sire No Nay Never has the greatest representation with four followed by Ashford Stud's American Pharoah  with three. American Pharoah had five runners pre-entered but it was announced Oct. 26 that his ridgling son American Theorem would miss the Juvenile and get a break before ramping up for his sophomore campaign and Princesa Caroline did not get into the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

No Nay Never has a couple of starters in the Juvenile Fillies Turf—group 2 winner Shadn and stakes winner Tango, while American Pharoah has one starter in this race with grade 2 winner Sweet Melania. 

The other two American Pharoah starters are Another Miracle and grade 3 winner Four Wheel Drive in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. The other two No Nay Never runners are group 1-placed, group 2 winner Arizona and group 1-placed Vitalogy, who are both in the Juvenile Turf.