First-crop sires: Stakes horses shine for Maximus Mischief

TwinSpires.com will follow prominent first-crop sires whose two-year-olds are hitting the track this season. This installment is the sixth on 2018 Remsen (G2) winner Maximus Mischief.

With two weeks left in 2023, Maximus Mischief is holding his own among the year’s leading first-crop sires.

According to the first-crop sire rankings compiled by Bloodhorse.com, Maximus Mischief ranks second in the nation with earnings of $2,101,105 through Dec. 17. He trails leader Mitole ($2,243,209) by $142,104.

After leading the rankings by number of winners sired for much of 2023, Maximus Mischief has slipped into second place in that category, with his 30 winners trailing Mitole’s 32. But the progeny of Maximus Mischief continue to excel at the stakes level; his three black-type stakes winners tie him with Flameaway and Solomini for the most of any first-crop sire.

Let Them Watch wins another stakes

What’s impressive about Maximus Mischief’s three stakes winners is that all have won multiple stakes. Glengarry has taken the Bowman Mill S. and Iowa Cradle S. Carmelina has won the Shamrock Rose S. and the non-black-type Keswick S. And now Let Them Watch owns wins in the Sharp Susan S. and Sandpiper S., with the latter victory coming on Dec. 2 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Let Them Watch showed grit in the Sandpiper. Rebounding from a last-place finish in the Myrtlewood S. at Keeneland, Let Them Watch carved out intense fractions of :22.05 and :44.34 before digging deep to hold off a closer and win the six-furlong dirt dash by three-quarters of a length in 1:10.64. She’s now 3-for-4 lifetime with earnings of $129,095.

Glengarry joins the Road to the Kentucky Derby

The above-mentioned Glengarry suffered his first defeat from four starts when joining the Road to the Kentucky Derby in the Remington Springboard Mile S. at Remington Park, but he didn’t run a bad race by any means.

To the contrary, Glengarry nearly took home top honors in his first start beyond six furlongs. After setting quick fractions of :23.48, :46.35, and 1:11.40, Glengarry engaged in a thrilling homestretch battle with Otto the Conqueror and only succumbed in the final furlong to finish second by three-quarters of a length. The effort earned Glengarry five Road to the Kentucky Derby qualification points, placing him 12th on the current leaderboard.

Raging Torrent, another son of Maximus Mischief, finished sixth in the Remington Springboard Mile.

Regalo, Escape Room post fine allowance tries

Speaking of stakes horses, Regalo appears bound for that caliber of competition after dominating a $62,500-$50,000 allowance optional claimer on Dec. 9 at Laurel Park.

Fresh off a runaway maiden victory sprinting seven furlongs at Laurel, Regalo was always prominent while stretching out over 1 1/16 miles, vying for command through slow fractions of :24.78, :49.73, and 1:14.90. Then, after getting the better of pacesetter Masakado in the homestretch, Regalo kicked away to win by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:46.40.

Escape Room wasn’t quite as productive in a $75,000 allowance optional claimer racing one mile and 70 yards over the Gulfstream Park Tapeta track last Friday, but it’s hard to knock her performance. After settling in third place behind a runaway leader, Escape Room fought on through fast closing fractions to finish second by 2 1/2 lengths. With a better pace setup, she might have finished closer to the gate-to-wire winner.

For Some Reason breaks his maiden

The 30th winner sired by Maximus Mischief is For Some Reason. After finishing fourth and seventh in his first two starts against maiden special weight competition, the Florida-bred gelding dropped in class for a $12,500 maiden claimer on Dec. 10 at Gulfstream Park. The result? An easy victory.

Favored at 4-5, For Some Reason settled in third place behind an opening quarter-mile in :22.00, advanced into contention through half a mile in :45.97, and then took over while staying on his left lead to win by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:13.02.

Our final update on Maximus Mischief will post in early January, once his final ranking among first-crop sires of 2023 is established.