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The recently-named Eclipse Champion Turf Male Up to the Mark is one of the first-year stallions for 2024 that we are most excited about, and his sire-line and racetrack success make him a perfect choice as the first mate for the well-connected young mare Aquatic Approach this spring.
Originally a $450,000 yearling purchase by Mike Repole & St. Elias Stables, Up to the Mark was highly thought of as a juvenile (he reportedly outworked eventual graded winner Wit at Saratoga as a 2YO prior to experiencing a series of minor setbacks which delayed his debut for a year) before eventually winning first-time out at Saratoga as a 3YO going 6 furlongs on dirt. Disappointing in a series of allowance races the rest of that season, he made his turf debut at Gulfstream in his first start as a 4YO, and rocketed home by 4 lengths in 1:33 for the mile. Another impressive Gulfstream allowance win followed, this time in 1:40 for 1-1/16 miles, before he stepped straight into Grade 1 company for his stakes debut, which was a 3rd place finish in Keeneland’s Maker’s Mark Mile, only a neck behind the reigning Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Modern Games.
Stretched out to 1-1/8 miles on the Kentucky Derby undercard, Up to the Mark scored a devastating win in the G1 Turf Classic, circling the field off the turn and drawing off with his wicked turn of foot. He showed that same acceleration again when taking the G1 Manhattan at 1-1/4 miles in 1:59 1/5 on Belmont Stakes Day, earning a 105 Beyer Speed Figure on the heels of his 103 at Churchill.
After missing some time with a minor issue over the summer, Up to the Mark shortened back up for Keeneland’s G1 Coolmore Turf Mile, and after an eventful trip was able to run down the favored Master of the Seas (who won the Breeders’ Cup Mile in his next start) just on the wire to win his third straight Grade 1. Connections opted for the 1-1/2 mile Breeders’ Cup Turf over the Mile for him at Santa Anita to close his career, and Up to the Mark ran a game race to finish 2nd after a wide trip, beaten under a length by dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin, who snuck through with a ground-saving trip.
Following the Breeders’ Cup, Up to the Mark retired with a career record of (12) 6-1-2, and earnings of $2,511,050, and was subsequently named the season’s Eclipse Champion Turf Male. Given that he himself was a winner at 6 furlongs on dirt in his debut before eventually scoring top-level wins on turf at 8 furlongs, 9 furlongs and 10 furlongs, plus an excellent placing against the highest company at 12 furlongs, Up to the Mark possessed a dazzling amount of versatility in addition to his obvious quality and turn of foot. We think he has every shot to make it, and the package he brings to stud makes him strong value at his first-year $25,000 fee.
Aquatic Approach, meanwhile, never raced, but has the genes to more than make up for that in her own breeding career. She is from the first crop of the brilliant and versatile Omaha Beach, and she is a half-sister to three winners, including the 2023 multiple graded turf stakes winner Mission of Joy, who also finished 3rd last season in the G1 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Keeneland.
Their dam, the Smart Strike mare Smart Mission, is out of the Canadian Classic winner (at 12 furlongs on turf) Misty Mission, who is also a half-sister to the Canadian Champion (and US graded winner) Irish Mission and to the three-time Canadian classic-placed (and US black-type winner) Mythical Mission, both by Giant’s Causeway.
Giant’s Causeway, of course, is the sire of Up to the Mark’s own sire Not This Time, which is what makes this cross so perfect in our minds. (There are two more six-figure earning half-siblings to Smart Mission by Giant’s Causeway, as well.)
TrueNicks likes this mating, too — they give it an “A” with a pair of black-type winners (one graded) from just 22 runners on the Giant’s Causeway/War Front cross, plus two more black-type earners. And we also like that Not This Time has 2023 G3W Yes This Time out of a Smart Strike mare.
Interestingly, and although Aquatic Approach herself is inbred 4x3x4 to Mr. Prospector, the foal from this mating will technically not be inbred within the first five generations.
Physically, Aquatic Approach and Up to the Mark are both well-made, medium-sized individuals with plenty of balance, though he’s a bit leggier and she’s a bit more stoutly-made. But they make a pretty good case of like-to-like, and we can wait to see the foal they produce together next spring!