First Mission was a horse that we were fans of throughout his racing career, and we think that Darley priced him extremely reasonably for his introductory season in 2026 — as such we’re breeding a mare of our own to him and have recommended to clients as well. The latest mare heading his way on our recommendation is the talented racemare Lacie Be Good, whose First Mission foal will be her first.
First Mission began his career with a close 2nd-place finish behind his Brad Cox-trained stablemate Bishops Bay (now a multiple graded stakes winner himself) going just six furlongs, then romped by 6-3/4 lengths in his second start when stretched to 1-1/16 miles. He was stepped straight into graded company after that, and triumphed in the G3 Lexington over Arabian Lion and Disarm (who would run 4th in the Kentucky Derby next out) in just his third career start.
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First Mission was our Preakness pick off of that effort¹, though unfortunately he scratched after training at Pimlico the preceding week and went to the sidelines for six months. But he made a big impression on us at Pimlico as a big, imposing, extremely athletic individual with an excellent pedigree (as we detailed in that piece).
When First Mission returned to the races in October of that 3YO season, it was against older allowance company as the odds-on favorite, and he overcame a troubled trip and the short stretch at Keeneland to again display his guts and get up to win on the wire. That was followed by a nose loss when again favored against older rivals, this time in the historic G2 Clark Stakes to close out his sophomore campaign.
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First Mission’s 4YO season was highlighted by back-to-back wins in the G3 Essex Handicap (by 5 carrying top weight) and the G2 Alysheba (earning a 106 Beyer Speed Figure), and he came back again at 5YO to run a 109 Beyer while winning the G2 Oaklawn Handicap, and he finished a game 3rd in the G1 Stephen Foster to Mindframe and Sierra Leone. He regularly showed a high cruising speed which he carried effectively going two-turns, and plenty of determination even if he was never able to add that elusive G1 victory to his resume.
Nevertheless, his accomplishments and his physical are impressive enough to warrant a shot at stud at his birthplace, not to mention his pedigree. As we pointed out in that Preakness piece, Darley already stands Street Sense and two of his sons, but both of those are out of Bernardini mares whereas First Mission has a dam by Medaglia d’Oro, and thus offers breeders the chance to send Bernardini — and other A.P. Indy-line mares — his way in an effort to replicate what has been an extremely productive cross for Street Sense.
Lacie Be Good isn’t an A.P. Indy-line mare, but her broodmare sire — Horse of the Year Mineshaft — is a son of A.P. Indy. And TrueNicks rates this Street Sense/Smart Strike cross (Lacie Be Good being by Curlin’s son Good Magic) with a solid “B” on the basis of three black-type winners and three more black-type placed runners from 38 runners.
Lacie Be Good shares some similarities with First Mission, in that she broke her maiden at 3YO and improved further as a 4YO. She also showed plenty of dirt speed, winning five times in maiden special weight and then allowance company, from 6-1/2 furlongs to 1-1/16 miles. She just missed black-type at Pimlico and Prairie Meadows.
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Lacie Be Good earned a total of $203,585, and her Equibase Speed Figures got as high as a 101. So she had ability, and also has the pedigree to go with it.
Her sire, Good Magic, is one of the rising young stars among the stallion ranks with Kentucky Derby winner Mage in his first crop and Belmont winner Dornoch (plus Grade 1 winner Muth) from his second crop, and he now stands for a six-figure sum — so he’s well on his way to taking up his own sire’s mantle among classic influences.
Lacie Be Good’s dam, meanwhile, was the black-type winner Lacie Slew (by Mineshaft, as mentioned above), who is the dam of seven other foals, all of which have raced and five of which have won, including the $200k-earner Boss Cara, who is by Street Boss, a son of Street Cry just like Street Sense.
With talented dirt runners as both its parents, we have high hopes for the foal from this mating, which should be a commercial success as well as a racetrack one!