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Settle It will return to the court of the fabulously well-bred Honest Mischief in 2022, in a mating that will again reinforce her turf sprinting proclivities.
TrueNicks now gives this mating a “B+” based on the broad cross of Into Mischief and sons with Smart Strike-line mares, with 14 winners from 19 foals bred this way, including two G3 winners, including the turf sprinter Bye Bye, who is actually bred even more similarly to Settle It’s eventual foal by Honest Mischief because Bye Bye’s dam is out of a daughter of A.P. Indy (by Seattle Slew), whereas Settle It’s dam is by General Meeting (by Seattle Slew).
Given that Honest Mischief is out of a Seattle Slew mare himself, this means that the foal from this mating will be inbred 3×4 to the ’77 Triple Crown winner, and inbreeding to Seattle Slew in the 3rd and 4th generations has been good for 2.3% stakes winners/foals (just about average for the breed as a whole) with 18 Grade 1 winners. This foal will also be inbred 4×4 to the classic winner El Gran Senor, which is a pattern that has produced 3% stakes winners/foals — or above the breed average.
As a stakes-winning son of the country’s leading sire, Honest Mischief — who also happens to be a half-brother to G1 winner First Defence, the sire of Eclipse Champion Close Hatches, not to mention being out of a Grade 1-winning half-sister to classic winner and leading sire Empire Maker, plus his Grade 1-winning and -siring half-brother Chester House — is about as exciting a stallion prospect as you’ll find. We believe he has a huge shot to be a major stallion from his base at Sequel NY (home of perennial leading NY stallion Freud, and the farm that started Laoban prior to his recent move to Kentucky on the back of a first-crop Grade 1-winning offspring).
Honest Mischief is a half-brother to 3 stakes winners, including the aforementioned First Defence. Their dam, Honest Lady, was a Grade 1-winning sprinter who also finished 2nd against males in both the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Met Mile. Honest Lady is out of Grade 1 winner and Broodmare of the Year Toussaud, whose offspring include five graded stakes winners, four of them Grade 1 winners, and two of those are Belmont winner Empire Maker (sire of Grade 1 winners like Pioneerof the Nile (in turn sire of American Pharoah) and Bodemeister (sire of Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming)) and his half-brother Chester House (sire of Grade 1 winners like Ventura and Divine Park). For those keeping score, that’s 3 incredibly successful stallions under Honest Mischief’s second dam.
Although Honest Mischief himself was a dirt performer and Into Mischief is known more as a dirt sire, Into Mischief has gotten some very good turf horses like multiple graded winner Largent and the aforementioned Bye Bye (whose G3 win came at 7 furlongs on turf). Honest Mischief’s dam Honest Lady was a winner sprinting on turf as well as dirt, his half-brother sired a 2020 European classic winner in Siskin. Meanwhile, Honest Lady’s dam Toussaud got Grade 1 winners on both surfaces. Settle It herself was a winner sprinting 6-1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf course at Santa Anita, and both of her black-type full-brothers were winners on both turf and dirt.
All of which suggests that this pairing should produce a very fast, very versatile foal who will hopefully tear up the NYRA tracks on both surfaces when the time comes!
Honest Mischief wins the City of Laurel Stakes at 3
Bye Bye, by Into Mischief out of a Smart Strike mare, wins the G3 Soaring Softly Stakes
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