TDN RISING STARS

June 6, 2024 - Saratoga, Race 6, Msw, USD $100,000, 7F

Audacious, F, 3, 2021 by Into Mischief

1st Dam: Veracity, by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Yell, by A.P. Indy
3rd Dam: Wild Applause, by Northern Dancer

Owner: Bass Stables LLC
Breeder: Fifth Avenue Bloodstock (KY)
Trainer: Todd A Pletcher

Part of a Todd Pletcher-trained and Ramona Bass-owned entry favored at 45 cents on the dollar, with each filly making her first trip to the races, Audacious (f, 3, Into Mischief–Veracity, by Distorted Humor) turned in a professional racetrack debut, and although things appeared to get a bit dicey in the final 30 yards, had done enough to become a 'TDN Rising Star'.

Drawn one to the outside of her homebred stablemate Chanteuse (Into Mischief) in the six hole, the $700,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase actually won the break, but was content to drift back into fourth, handy enough to the pace, as Chanteuse took them down the backstretch and into the far turn.

Clicked up three wide on the bend, Audacious was poised three furlongs out and had the front-runner in the cross-hairs moving past the quarter pole. With a confident John Velazquez at the controls, Audacious easily gathered up Charteuse with three-sixteenths of a mile to run and threatened to pull away to a wide-margin victory. Only tenderly–some might say audaciously–ridden by Velazquez and appearing to idle entering the final sixteenth of a mile, with the race apparently in safe keeping, Audacious was only under hands-and-heels encouragement for the remainder and was home 3/4 of a length better than 15-1 Refuse To Lose (Union Rags), whose dam Victory Party (Yankee Victor) is a half-sister to the winner's sire in addition to Beholder, Mendelssohn, et al.

Perhaps the eye-catcher of the bunch was Stuart Janney III's Silvology (Blame), who veered inward at the start from the inside barrier and was clearly last early, but attacked the line to just miss second.

The 45th of her sire's progeny to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors, Audacious is the second winner from two foals to race out of Veracity, a $460,000 purchase by Bob Edwards's Fifth Avenue Bloodstock at the 2016 Keeneland January Sale whose stakes-winning full-sister Cherry produced the dual Grade I-winning 'Rising Star' Elate (Medaglia d'Oro).

Second dam Yell, a Grade II winner at three and twice placed at Grade I level–including the 2003 Kentucky Oaks–is also responsible for Toll (Giant's Causeway), the dam of 2019 GII Jim Dandy S. winner Tax (Arch); as well as GSP Chide (Blame) and MSP Shrill (Distorted Humor). Third dam Wild Applause was a half-sister to GI Travers S. winner Sea Hero and the dam of the sires Roar (Forty Niner) and Eastern Echo (Damascus). Veracity was a $1.7 million buyback at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Audacious is bred on the exact same cross as fellow 'TDN Rising Star' and WinStar sire Life Is Good as well as Coolmore's Practical Joke, while Goldencents is out of a daughter of the Forty Niner stallion Banker's Gold.

Veracity is also the dam of the 2-year-old colt Truth Telling (Nyquist), a $200,000 purchase at KEESEP last fall.