Fast Start for Mission Impazible

Mission Impazible   won a pair of grade II stakes and earned more than $1.2 million in a 21-start, four-year racing career from 2009-12. 

A grade I win proved elusive as Mission Impazible finished second in three top-level stakes. But he's not second in 2016, as the 9-year-old son of Unbridled's Song sits atop the first-crop sire list and already has a stakes winner in Tremont Stakes victor Silver Mission.

Mission Impazible raced for Steve Davison and Randy Gullatt's Twin Creeks Racing and stands in New York at Becky Thomas' Sequel Stallions near Hudson. Twin Creeks and Sequel offered strong support to get Mission Impazible's stud career started, and they are the breeders and owners of Silver Mission, who has earned $161,000 in purses and an additional $93,300 in breeders, owners, and stallion owner awards from the New York Thoroughbred Breeding Fund.

Silver Mission is joined by fillies Proud Mission, who broke her maiden first time out May 22 at Lone Star Park; and Bourbon Lane Stable's Paz the Bourbon, who ran second in her May 26 debut at Belmont Park and is being pointed to the July 17 Lynbrook Stakes for New York-bred fillies.

"We couldn't have scripted the start any better," said Gullatt. "I'm not totally surprised. I know Mission himself was such a good, early horse from day one. We're seeing that in a lot of his babies. They're enjoying their training and are saying 'yes' every morning. We're getting the results from that, I believe."

One believer is Jamie Hill of McMahon & Hill Bloodstock, which runs Bourbon Lane Stable. Besides Paz the Bourbon, whom they paid $150,000 for at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s March sale, they purchased a Mission Impazible Maryland-bred for a client.

"The horse has great promise," Hill said of the young stallion. "And the fact he's standing in New York is great. People are going to see that New York is a great place to make a young stallion." 

Twin Creeks Racing is proud of Mission Impazible's hot start.

"With 2-year-olds, you can never count your chickens until they hatch; things happen," Gullatt said. "But when they happen like this, it's pretty awesome. It's incredible when it happens in May and June."

Mission Impazible has 48 named 2-year-olds in his first crop. He bred 105 mares his second season (yearlings of 2016) and 60 last year. He will have covered close to 100 mares this season in New York and, according to Gullatt, they've gotten some interest from Kentucky.

"The way things are going, there'd have to be some begging to put him there," he said. "As long as the New York breeders program is going, I think he's in a good spot."