Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa's Curlin and Three Chimneys Farm's Gun Runner are represented by the largest number of runners pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup World Championships at seven each.
Both sires have victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) listed among their achievements, with Curlin capturing the race at Monmouth Park in 2007 on his way to earning his first of two Horse of the Year titles and Gun Runner getting his win at Del Mar and a Horse of the Year title in 2017.
Curlin has his strongest representation in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) where he is represented by three starters: Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) winner Clairiere; Malathaat, who has won the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) and Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) this year and was third in last year's Distaff; and 3-year-old Nest, who has won three grade 1s this year and was second in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).
The sire's other Breeders' Cup contenders are Cody's Wish in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), Elite Power in the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), Obligatory in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), and Raging Sea in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Curlin has sired two Breeders' Cup winners so far—Vino Rosso in the 2019 Classic and Good Magic in the 2017 Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
Gun Runner has gotten off to a blazingly fast start at stud, ending his freshman year in 2021 with record-setting progeny earnings of $4,315,980. His daughter Echo Zulu contributed a big chunk of that by winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and banking $1.48 million for the year.
In this year's Breeders' Cup, Gun Runner has runners in five races. His son and multiple grade 1 winner Taiba is expected to start in the Classic; Echo Zulu and multiple grade 2 winner Wicked Halo are headed for starts in the Filly and Mare Sprint; Cotillion Stakes (G1) winner Society is slated for the Distaff; expected starters in the Dirt Mile are TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) winner Cyberknife and Gunite , who won the Hopeful Stakes (G1) at 2 and recently won the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland; and, grade 3-placed winner Grand Love has been entered in the Juvenile Fillies.
Gun Runner already is running away with the leading second-crop sire title, with more than $11.7 million in progeny earnings, which is more than twice the progeny earnings for second-ranked Arrogate. Gun Runner's earnings are rich enough to rank him sixth on the general leading sires list. A Breeders' Cup winner could easily move him into the top five.
Spendthrift Farm's three-time leading North American sire Into Mischief has the next largest representation with six entrants. He has already sired the winners of six Breeders' Cup races—Goldencents won the Dirt Mile in 2013-14, Authentic won the 2020 Classic, Gamine won the 2020 Filly and Mare Sprint, and Covfefe won the 2019 Filly and Mare Sprint, and current Classic contender Life Is Good .
A dominant winner of last year's Dirt Mile, multiple grade 1 winner Life Is Good is a strong contender in this year's Classic for his sire. Into Mischief's other entrants include grade 1 winner Wonder Wheel and grade 3 winner Naughty Gal in the Juvenile Fillies; multiple stakes winner Flash of Mischief in the Sprint; multiple grade 1-placed, grade 2 winner Frank's Rockette in the Filly and Mare Sprint; and, grade 2 winner Laurel River in the Dirt Mile.
Dalham Hall Stud's Dubawi, who was represented last year by three Breeders' Cup winners, has five pre-entered. His son Modern Games, who won a controversial edition of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), is back to run in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T), while In Italian will contest the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T); Creative Force and Naval Crown are in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T); and, Never Ending Story is in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T).
