Leading Thoroughbred sire Into Mischief bred several Quarter Horse mares in 2020.

© Courtesy Spendthrift Farm

By Joe Nevills, Paulick Report

LEXINGTON, KY–MARCH 28, 2025–After six years atop North America's leading sire chart, two Kentucky Derby winners, a record-tying eight Breeders' Cup winners, and a pile of Eclipse Awards earned by his runners, there might appear to be no more frontiers left for Into Mischief to conquer at stud.

The great ones, though, always manage to find uncharted territory.

During the recently completed Sandy Ridge meet at The Red Mile, Into Mischief was represented by the 3-year-old filly La Malicia, who became his fourth winner as a sire of Quarter Horses.

Yes, you read that correctly.

In 2019, Robicheaux Ranch, Inc. in Breaux Bridge, La., announced a partnership with Spendthrift Farm to offer leading Thoroughbred sire Into Mischief and champion sprinter Mitole to Quarter Horse breeders through artificial insemination for the 2020 breeding season.

La Malicia (outside) became the fourth Quarter Horse winner for six-time leading Thoroughbred sire Into Mischief.
© Coady Media

At the time, Into Mischief stood for an advertised fee of $175,000 for Thoroughbreds, which require live-cover matings to qualify for The Jockey Club registry, and he stands in 2025 for $250,000. However, because he was an unproven commodity in the Quarter Horse world, and the The Jockey Club does not permit artificial insemination, he was offered to Quarter Horse breeders for $10,000.

Thoroughbreds have played a prominent role in the development of the racing Quarter Horse breed from its inception. There are 10 full-blooded Thoroughbreds in the American Quarter Horse Association's Hall of Fame, including Three Bars, who sired 29 AQHA champions and is considered one of the Quarter Horse breed's most influential racing sires.

Quarter Horses with one Thoroughbred parent are permitted to compete in AQHA events, including races, registered as "appendix" horses. They can gain full registry and expanded breeding privileges with the registry if they achieve a certain speed rating on the track or meet a standard of achievement in the show ring.

Even for races that start and end on the same length of the stretch, endurance can be just as valuable as raw speed, and Thoroughbreds with the right combination of physical makeup and sprinting ability can make mark in the Quarter Horse breed. They can also introduce some diversity to the racing breed's gene pool.

"As the years go on, the races are starting to get more distance, even at the younger ages, 2-year-olds," said Shawna Martin, trainer of La Malicia. "By the end of the year, they're going 400, 440 yards out west, so I think that's where they're getting attracted to the breed."

Many of the top names in the Thoroughbred stud book have dabbled in siring Quarter Horse runners to varying degrees.

Horse of the Year Favorite Trick (TB) saw a career renaissance as a sire of Quarter Horse runners, led by champion Prankster CF and Grade 1 winners Favorite Cartel and Good Reason SA; both notable sires themselves. The mighty Storm Cat sired one Quarter Horse foal near the end of his career: Grade 3 winner Stray Cat. Other notable sires including Alydar and Scat Daddy also had a small number of Quarter Horse foals.

On the contemporary scene, Power Jam (TB), a stakes-winning son of Concord Point, is a top-25 Quarter Horse sire of 2025 by earnings.

Though it's by no means a comprehensive list, the website StallioneSearch.com lists 18 full-blooded Thoroughbred stallions advertised for Quarter Horse matings, including graded stakes winners American Anthem, Blended Citizen, Code West, and Sporting Chance. Despite having died in 2006, Favorite Trick was still available to breeders in 2024, thanks to advances in semen preservation and insemination efficiency.

Into Mischief saw 10 foals in his debut Quarter Horse crop in 2021, currently 4-year-olds of 2025.

His first Quarter Horse winner came in May 2023 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, when Dreamers Into Cartel won a 250-yard maiden race for owner/breeder Brian Gunder.

In total, Into Mischief has sired 33 registered Quarter Horse foals, with 23 starters and four winners.

La Malicia became the fourth horse to join that group on March 17, when she won a 220-yard maiden race at The Red Mile for owner Laura Cissell and trainer Martin.

The filly was bred in Colorado by Butch and Stephanie Webb, out of the Apollitical Jess mare La Reina Madre. Because the AQHA permits embryo transfer, as well as artificial insemination, La Malicia has a full-sister born the same year named Mizchief Maker, who is winless in two starts at Louisiana Downs.

La Malicia spent her 2-year-old season at Los Alamitos in California, where she was acquired by Cissell in the fall of 2024, and moved to Martin's barn about three weeks ago. She broke her maiden at The Red Mile in her seasonal debut, then came back the following week to finish fifth in a 300-yard allowance race.

After the filly's second race at The Red Mile, Martin said La Malicia would return to Horseshoe Indianapolis to prepare for the track's meet, which runs from April to October.