Honest Mischief is the most-promising, youngest stallion New York state at the moment, on the basis of his first-crop runners’ finish to their freshmen season in 2024. The success of those runners, including a pair of weekend black-type doubles by his son Sacrosanct and daughter Stone Smuggler (who are both still undefeated), catapulted Honest Mischief to his spot as the #1 Freshman Sire outside of Kentucky last season.
He’s now up to 15 first-crop winners, the large majority of those in maiden special weight or stakes company, and, in addition to his two black-type winners (5.7% to starters), he now has four black-type placed runners, including ‘25 G3-placed Arigatou Gozaimasu (a total of 16.2% black-type runners from starters).
These results are not super-surprising for Honest Mischief, who earned a place at stud as a black-type winning son of perennial leading sire Into Mischief and a half-brother to Grade 1 winner and stallion First Defence (sire of Eclipse Champion Close Hatches), out of the Grade 1-winner Honest Lady, a half-sister to Grade 1 winners and stallions Empire Maker and Chester House. Given ample chance at Becky Thomas’s Sequel NY, his first crop sold very strongly for a regional stallion as both yearlings and 2YOs, before they followed through on the racetrack last year.
With a strong pipeline already assured, Honest Mischief looks poised to be a leading stallion in the state for a long time, and as such he makes a perfect mate for the recently-acquired Sister Dawn.
Once upon a time, Sister Dawn was a $120k yearling purchase-turned $290k 2YO in-training (she also sold for $260k carrying her first foal, and $275k carrying her third foal). She had her best campaign as a sophomore when she won four races including the Playa Del Rey Stakes, finished 2nd in the Grade 2 Bayakoa Handicap against older mares, and 3rd in the Grade 3 Santa Paula Stakes. Her highest Equibase Speed Figure was a very strong 104, and she had a total of four triple digit figures. Sister Dawn is already the dam of the black-type winner Buy the Best, and three more of her foals have earned six figures.
Two of those six-figure earners were sired by Giant’s Causeway and his son Eskendereya, which is one of the reasons that we think she’ll be a great fit for Honest Mischief (also a Storm Cat-line stallion). TrueNicks likes this match to the tune of a “B” rating (Into Mischief over Indian Charlie), thanks to G1 winner Dayoutoftheoffice, G2 winner Frank’s Rockette, and ‘25 3YO black-type winner Captain Cook. There are four additional Graded-placed runners bred on this cross (two G1s).
Interestingly, the foal from this mating will be a complete outcross through five generations.
Sister Dawn’s strong, solid physical is very much in the mold of her sire, and also a nice case of like-to-like with Honest Mischief. We look forward to a powerful, quick foal from this mating to earn its breeder state-bred bonuses over a long and successful career!