Into Mischief

With a new cycle of yearling sales nearly upon us, nearly everyone will once again be deciding where they are most prepared to compromise. Would you prefer an athlete low on pedigree, or will you trust the genes to come through even if you're not wowed by the specimen in front of you? Well, there's no mistaking which strategy is recommended by the story of the GI Belmont S. winner. Though from one of America's most aristocratic families, Arcangelo (Arrogate) lurked in the September Sale as Hip 1182 and was...

3rd-Ellis, $127,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 6-10, 3yo, 1m, 1:34.88, ft, 6 1/4 lengths. EXTRA ANEJO (c, 3, Into Mischief--Superioritycomplex {Ire}, by Hard Spun), super on 'TDN Rising Star' debut last October when decimating a Keeneland maiden by 9 1/2 lengths and registering a 92 Beyer Speed Figure, spent the next several months on the bench before reappearing in an optional allowance on Derby Day at Churchill. He broke slowly and may have been a little rusty that day as he was fanned wide and closed late for a length...

ELMONT, NY -- Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) followed up her thrilling GI Kentucky Oaks victory with a hard-fought, head decision over Dorth Vader (Girvin) in Friday's GI Acorn S. at Belmont Park. Occult (Into Mischief) was another four lengths back in third. Cutting back to a one-turn 1 1/16 miles here, the 9-5 second-choice raced within striking distance in an outside fifth as the stretching-out and favored 'Rising Star' Munnys Gold (Munnings) led through fractions of :23.34 and :46.37. Pretty Mischievous loomed boldly while...

So, what's next? The plague of locusts? The only surprise is that the smoke filling the air at Belmont Park has drifted across the continent from Canadian forests, and didn't actually emerge from a widening fissure in the crust, crumbling daily, that appears to divide horsemen and their horses from the inferno. Hopefully a reprieve of the GI Belmont S. might yet be extended to some other elements in what has become too relentlessly apocalyptic a narrative. In terms of what has been definitively established, our sport's macabre run of...

ELMONT, NY - After canceling Thursday's card at Belmont Park amid poor air quality issues, there is optimism that live racing will return with Friday's 11-race program featuring a trio of Grade I events. Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), last seen pulling off a dramatic 10-1 upset with first-time blinkers in the GI Kentucky Oaks, will take on seven rivals in the GI Acorn S. "She's doing great and hasn't missed a beat since she came out of the Oaks," trainer Brendan Walsh said. "This was the obvious next step for...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Tokyo and Hanshin Racecourses: Saturday, June 3, 2023 5th-TOK, ¥13,720,000 ($98k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600mT BUSHIN (c, 2, Into Mischief--Flawless, by Mr. Greeley) is a full-brother to 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic, whose dam was offered two months after the...

6th-SA, $61k, Msw, 3-5yo, 6 1/2f, 6:42p.m. ET In against a field of mixed maidens of various age, Bob Baffert will unveil two expensive stablemates in this sixth at the Great Race Place on the Golden Coast lead by EXTORTION (Into Mischief). Out of an unraced half-sister to full-siblings MGISP Munnings (Speightstown) and GSP Munnings Sister, another of Gaudete's half-sisters produced SP-Uae Speight'spercomete (Speightstown). Extortion can claim a Group-placed sibling of his own in MGSP-Uae Snowboarder (Raven's Pass) and one of his half-sisters named Beauty and Light (Unbridled's Song) is...

5th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 2:45 p.m. PUMPKIN SCONE (Into Mischief), a $1.25-million Keeneland September Yearling purchase by Spendthrift Farm, debuts for Brad Cox from the outside gate on Sunday. Bred in Kentucky by the China Horse Club, the bay filly is out of Embellish the Lace (Super Saver), who has also produced three-time winner and fellow $1.25-million KEESEP graduate Tap the Faith (Tapit). Pumpkin Scone hails from a female family which includes GI Travers S. hero Afleet Express (Afleet Alex) and MGISP My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song),...

4th-Pimlico, $54,160, Msw, 5-25, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, :52.90, ft, 1/2 length. KRISTINACHRYSALIS (f, 2, Maximus Mischief--Tiz Her Now, by Tiznow) notched the first winner for her freshman sire (by Into Mischief) and former 'TDN Rising Star' with a maiden-breaking score at Old Hilltop. Flashing early speed along the rail, the 9-2 chance contested the lead with 7-5 favorite Buckin' Great (Great Notion), but around the far turn the bay filly began to get away from her rival and went on to graduate by 3/4 of a length over the...

10th-Churchill Downs, $120,000, Msw, 5-20, 3yo/up, f/m, 5 1/2f, 1:04.98, ft, head. LADY IRENE (f, 3, Kantharos--Leslie's Lady {Broodmare Of The Year, SW, $187,014}, by Tricky Creek), racing in her second start but under Lasix for the first time, was a debut third last fall at Churchill Downs before being turned out for the winter. Sent on her way here as the 6-5 heavy favorite, the bay filly dueled early with Little Hot Mess (Army Mule), then backed off before the far turn. Saving her strength, the homebred began to...

2nd-Churchill Downs, $127,840, Alw (NW2X)/Opt. Clm ($125,000), 5-19, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:10.28, ft, 8 3/4 lengths. DAZZLING BLUE (f, 3, Into Mischief--Blue Violet {SW & MGSP, $237,356}, by Curlin) broke her maiden on debut last fall at Churchill Downs when she won by 4 1/2 lengths and then shipped to her trainer's winter base in December where she won the Letellier Memorial S. by 3 lengths at Fair Grounds before going to the bench. Off as the 4-5 favorite here, the bay filly seized the lead down the backstretch after...

Running for a $50,000 tag as recently as last November, 11-1 chance Taxed (Collected) proved one of the biggest bargains on the afternoon, coming from off the pace to peg Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) while also leaving the previously undefeated and piping-hot 3-5 choice Faiza (Girvin) in her wake in the GII George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. at Pimlico Friday. Last season's GII Golden Rod S. winner Hoosier Philly was intent on getting to the front, and she did so dutifully, as Sacred Wish (Not This Time), Merlazza (Medaglia...