If there was any question whether Ted Noffey would begin his racing career by being named champion 2-year-old male, it was put to bed at the Breeders' Cup.
In securing a flawless 4-for-4 mark in his opening campaign, the son of leading sire Into Mischief took the lead as the field turned for home in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and never relented on the Del Mar dirt. It was his third grade 1 victory in as many attempts.
Bred in Kentucky by Aaron and Marie Jones LLC out of the Old Fashioned mare Streak of Luck, the gray or roan colt was purchased by Spendthrift Farm for $650,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
According to Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey, who in a sense serves as the colt's namesake, all the signs of success were there.
"He was this big, beautiful, gray colt. And he just made a huge impression," Toffey said. "He was one of the kind that you look at, and you're almost like, 'Is this horse just too obvious?'"
Yet, Spendthrift considered passing on him—briefly.
Toffey recalled how Spendthrift passed on Hoosier Philly, another gray Into Mischief offspring, at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
"There haven't been as many (gray Into Mischiefs). Into Mischief generally tends to stamp his horses, particularly color-wise," Toffey said. "They're almost always bays with some white on their legs and on their face. But we had, from my standpoint, kind of learned our lesson on Hoosier Philly, and just weren't going to let that stop us."
The Todd Pletcher trainee first caught people's attention on the track after breaking his maiden on debut in August at Saratoga Race Course. In his second start, the Hopeful Stakes (G1), Ted Noffey ran roughshod over the field after regaining the lead at the quarter pole for an 8 1/2-length romp.
He followed with a 2 3/4-length triumph in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. Stalking Litmus Test for the opening half-mile and then Blackout Time before Ted Noffey's class took over, and he pulled away from his rivals over 1 1/16 miles.
That set him up for the Breeders' Cup, where the question was whether or not Ted Noffey could live up to the significant expectations attached to his name. Brant, the perceived biggest threat to Ted Noffey's coronation, led through the first three-quarters of a mile. But Brant was unable to shake Ted Noffey, who was shadowing him throughout. Turning for home, Ted Noffey took the lead and held off a late-charging Mr. A. P. to cross the wire 1 length ahead of him.
Ted Noffey ended 2025 with a perfect record and $1,657,963 in earnings.
After the sensational rookie campaign, all eyes are on Ted Noffey and what new heights he might achieve as his connections eye the top 3-year-old races.
"We can have all the expectations or positive or negative thoughts that we want on the subject, and everybody can have their opinions, and I'm sure we'll see and read about lots of those between now and (the Kentucky Derby), and there'll be a lot of talk about it," Toffey said. "We'll get a little bit of taste of maybe what some of the other sports in America, people involved with those listen to on a regular basis, because we're talking about a horse who's on the Derby trail. We'll see and hear a lot of opinions about all of it, but at the end of the day, it's great for the interest in racing from the bigger-picture standpoint. But at the end of the day, none of it matters. All that matters is what he feels up to doing when he gets out there on the racetrack."
