Freshman sires: 2 have Breeders' Cup contenders
The 2025 freshman sire season continues with Yaupon firmly in control at the top of the standings with 27 wins from 113 starters. The son of Uncle Mo has posted an impressive 23.9% strike rate, leading second-place Knicks Go by nine victories.
Yaupon will not be represented in the Breeders' Cup, but two other freshman sires will have entrants Friday. First is Leinster, 12th in the standings, whose multiple graded-stakes-winning daughter Lennilu is a strong contender in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. Japan's young sire Contrail has the filly Switch in Love, entered in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Contrail has had only one other entrant in North America, Grand Warrior, who finished fifth in a maiden special weight at Woodbine.
Several other stallions remain in contention for the top spots. Maxfield sits a close third with 17 wins from 103 starts, and Rock Your World has 16 wins from 94 starts.
Breeders' Cup fields: Friday | Saturday
Recent winners
Twelve freshman sires accounted for 20 wins during the past week. Yaupon and Knicks Go shared the lead with three victories apiece, and Maxfield, Essential Quality and Silver State each added two winners. Yaupon's trio were Stradale at Churchill Downs, Crown the Buckeye at Mountaineer and Letmecounttheways at Belmont at Aqueduct. Knicks Go tallied wins with Colleague at Mountaineer, R Slew of Cash at Gulfstream Park and Freaks Go at Churchill Downs.
Essential Quality scored twice Friday, with Tacticality winning at Belmont at Aqueduct and Misinformation breaking through at Keeneland. Silver State also posted a pair of victories with Savage State at Finger Lakes on Oct. 20 and One Hit Wonder at Mountaineer on Oct. 21. Independence Hall picked up his 13th win when She's Never Wrong scored at Arapahoe, and Modernist notched his eighth victory with Tall Cool One at the same track. Other winners included Helmet of Will for Beau Liam, Little Miss Curlin for Charlatan, Rock Etiquette for Rock Your World, Bourbon N Blush for Basin, Lady Chance for Chance It and Shenadoah Sunrise for Engage.
Freshman sire standings
| Sire | Starts | Wins | Places | Shows | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yaupon | 113 | 27 | 17 | 9 | 23.9 |
| Knicks Go | 117 | 18 | 13 | 16 | 15.4 |
| Maxfield | 103 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 16.5 |
| Rock Your World | 94 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 17.0 |
| Essential Quality | 94 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 14.9 |
| Independence Hall | 99 | 13 | 19 | 16 | 13.1 |
| Beau Liam | 76 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15.8 |
| Uncle Chuck | 50 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 18.0 |
| Basin | 47 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 19.1 |
| Charlatan | 73 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 11.0 |
| Modernist | 66 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 12.1 |
| Leinster | 40 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 20.0 |
| Code of Honor | 58 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 12.1 |
| Raging Bull | 78 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 9.0 |
| Silver State | 77 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 9.1 |
| Tacitus | 64 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 9.4 |
| Known Agenda | 71 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8.5 |
| Lexitonian | 47 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 12.8 |
| By My Standards | 60 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 8.3 |
| Engage | 50 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 10.0 |