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With Zarella’s 2020 half-brother Eldest Son having blossomed into a five-time winner of over $200k who looks like he could be stakes class in 2024 for trainer Jamie Ness, we have decided to switch our plan with her and send her to a son of Into Mischief in order to mimic this mating. As such, Zarella will head to Taylor Made Farm this spring and a date with a stallion that we expect to be right at the top of the Freshman Sires table come year’s end: Instagrand.
The first seven-figure sales horse by Into Mischief when he brought $1.2 million from Larry Best’s OXO Equine as a 2YO in-training, Instagrand debuted that summer with a TDN Rising Star-worthy, ten-length romp which he promptly followed up with another ten-length win in the G2 Best Pal Stakes. He returned at 3YO and was 3rd going two-turns in both the G3 Gotham and the G1 Santa Anita Derby. He added another 3rd-place finish at 4YO before his retirement to Taylor Made.
Given his looks, price, pedigree and precocity, it was no surprise that Instagrand was extremely popular in his first year at stud when he covered almost 200 mares, including some very high-profile mares owned by OXO, who were committed to getting him off to a very strong start at stud. He has remained popular since then, albeit with typical second and third year drop-off in the number of mares bred, and 77 of his first yearlings averaged just shy of six times his stud fee at auction last year. He has every right to be near the top of the freshman sire list in ’24, much like Into Mischief’s earlier sons Goldencents and Maximus Mischief have been.
In addition to Zarella being a half-sister to a winner by Into Mischief (plus her half-sister was bred to Into Mischief’s son Authentic for a foal of 2024), the Into Mischief/Ghostzapper cross has so far produced 11 winners from 16 runners for almost $700k in earnings. And Ghostzapper as a broodmare sire has accounted for Triple Crown winner Justify, champion Drefong, and likely champion Up to the Mark, who are all by Storm Cat-line stallions like Into Mischief.
Into Mischief-line stallions have also done well (especially in 2023) with Tapit-line mares, which Zarella’s dam is.
Interestingly, the foal from this mating will be a complete outcross through five generations.
Physically, Instagrand will suit Zarella well — like many from Ghostzapper/Awesome Again line, she is a solidly-made, slightly close-coupled mare, but with plenty of leg, and he is a compact, muscular, well-balanced individual who has thrown similarly quick- and early-looking foals.
Given which, we fully expect those Instagrand foals to get off to a good start as 2YOs in 2024 and make this pairing look prescient!