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Chess Chief Retired To Pleasant Acres Stallions In Florida For 2024

Pleasant Acres Stallions is pleased to announce the arrival of Chess Chief (Into Mischief x Downside Scenario, by Scat Daddy), who will stand in Florida for the 2024 breeding season for a $5,000 fee.

“Chess Chief is a wonderful addition to our stallion barn,” said Director of Stallion Services Christine Jones. “He was a talented athlete who beat Grade 1 winners Mucho Gusto ($3,953,800), Long Range Toddy ($1,264,420), and twice he beat Roadster ($901,500) – all in graded events.”

Chess Chief is a graded stakes winner and multiple graded stakes placed son of Into Mischief – four-time champion general sire – who stands for $250,000 at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. Chess Chief won the Tenacious Stakes and the $400,000 Grade 2 New Orleans Classic and had career earnings of nearly $1 million. He placed in four graded stakes events including the G2 West Virginia Derby, G3 Oklahoma Derby, G3 Mineshaft Stakes, and G2 Alysheba Stakes.

Chess Chief is out of the Mineshaft mare Un Blessed who is a half-sister to stakes producer Bonnie Byerly, dam of Diabolical, a $300,000 2-year-old at OBS and a multiple graded stakes winner of $1,467,401. On the board in 22 of 32 races, he won the G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, G3 Emirates Airline Maryland Sprint Handicap, and was multiple Grade 1-placed. Chess Chief's second dam, Plenty of Grace, was a multiple graded stakes winner – including the G1 Yellow Ribbon Invitational Stakes and G2 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup – who earned $744,499. She is a half-sister to Soaring Softly ($1,270,433) – multiple graded stakes winner and Eclipse Award 1999 champion grass mare and winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and G1 Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap.

Chess Chief's sire, Into Mischief has $161,337,313 in progeny earnings with $131,919 average earnings per runner. He's had 139 (11.4 percent) black type winners and 258 (21.1 percent) black type placed runners. Currently, he has 68 graded stakes winners and 18 Grade 1 winners. Continuing to break his own records, Into Mischief averaged nearly $600,000 for weanlings and close to $700,000 for yearlings in the sales ring in 2023 – a substantial increase from the prior year.

Chess Chief joins stallions Curlin's Honor (Curlin), Gone Astray (Dixie Union), Gunnevera (Dialed In), Leinster (Majestic Warrior), Magic On Tap (Tapit), Mutasaabeq (Into Mischief), Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday), No Never No More (Scat Daddy), and Sweetontheladies (Twirling Candy), at the 220-acre farm located just northwest of Ocala. Pleasant Acres Stallions has received many accolades for excellence, including 2021 Florida Freshman Sire of the Year for Neolithic, 2017 Florida Freshman Sire of the Year for Poseidon's Warrior, 2017 DRF Florida-bred Beyer Award, 2009 Florida Breeder of the Year, 2009 Florida Broodmare of the Year, Breeder of the 2009 Florida Horse of the Year, and was ranked third in the nation for leading breeders in 2009 by average earnings per starter with 10 or more starters.

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Weekend Lineup Presented By Del Mar: Fall Meet Comes Alive Where The Turf Meets The Surf

The fall meet at Del Mar launches this weekend, with one listed stakes race carded on each of three days where the turf meets the surf.

Highlighting that trio is Saturday's Kathryn Crosby, a one-mile contest on the turf for fillies and mares with nine entrants. Phil D'Amato's Dolce Zel is the morning line favorite.

Turf contests are the highlight on Saturday at both Aqueduct and Churchill Downs; the New York card features the G2 Red Smith and the G3 Pebbles, while the Kentucky one features the G3 River City.

Churchill's Saturday program will also showcase talented female sprinter Wicked Halo as she chases her ninth career win in the $300,000 Dream Supreme.

Additionally on Saturday: a pair of graded stakes are on offer at Woodbine, three listed stakes are carded for Laurel Park, and Gulfstream will host a pair of sprint stakes for 2-year-olds.

Saturday

3:43 p.m. – Grade 2 Red Smith Stakes at Aqueduct

Trainer Christophe Clement is hopeful that third time will be the charm with multiple Grade 1-placed millionaire Soldier Rising as he makes his third straight start in the $300,000 Red Smith going 11 furlongs over the inner turf at Aqueduct. Soldier Rising finished a respective third [2021] and ninth [2022] in the past two runnings of the Red Smith. This year, the 5-year-old Frankel gelding has finished a late-rallying second in four Grade 1 turf events on the circuit.

Mike Maker will unleash a pair of formidable contenders in Cross Border [post 4, Manny Franco] and Red Run [post 9, Ruben Silvera].

Cross Border enters from a redeeming triumph in the 12-furlong Cape Henlopen on September 16 at Delaware Park. The evergreen English Channel 9-year-old brags field-high earnings of $1,333,258 through a record of 52-13-8-7, including back-to-back victories in the Grade 2 Bowling Green at Saratoga in 2020-21. His lone victory at the Big A took place at the Red Smith distance in a November 2019 allowance event.

Red Run was a last out fourth in the Sycamore after a 1 1/4-length allowance triumph in September going nine furlongs over the Churchill Downs turf. The 4-year-old Gun Runner colt has finished no worse than fourth since being claimed by Maker in March from Hall of Fame conditioner Steve Asmussen.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle Lost Ark [post 1, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] following a triumph in an off-the-turf Jockey Club Derby Invitational on October 7 at Belmont at the Big A. Lost Ark is a half-brother to last year's Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Nest.

Nineeleventurbo [post 6, Joel Rosario] makes the journey to New York for Hall of Fame trainer Neil Drysdale after capturing a 12-furlong second-level allowance on October 14 over good ground at Keeneland. The 6-year-old More Than Ready gelding was previously second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap in September, finishing 1 1/4 lengths behind Grade 1-winning millionaire Gold Phoenix.

Red Smith Entries

5:12 p.m. – Grade 2 Bessarabian Stakes at Woodbine

Awesome Treat, a 5-year-old daughter of Awesome Patriot-Tiz a Treat, looks for her first stakes success in Saturday's $175,000 Bessarabian Stakes (G2), at Woodbine. The seven-furlong main track feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and upward, has drawn 14 starters, including Awesome Treat.

Trained by Steve Attard, the dark bay mare, fourth in last year's Bessarabian, heads into Saturday's affair off a pleasing runner-up finish in the Ontario Fashion (G3) on October 14. Dismissed at 38-1, Awesome Treat rallied stoutly down the lane to miss top prize by a half-length in the six-furlong test.

Other starters include multiple graded stakes winner Our Flash Drive, along with graded stakes winners Loyalty, Midnight Stroll, Miss Dracarys, Ready To Venture (GB), Spun Glass and multiple graded stakes winner Artie's Princess.

Bessarabian Entries

5:35 p.m. – Grade 3 River City Stakes at Churchill Downs

Wise Dan Stakes (Grade 2) winner Stitched headlines an over-subscribed field of 15 turf specialists that entered Saturday's 44th running of the $300,000 River City Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Greg Foley, Stitched achieved his biggest honors winning the Wise Dan three starts ago at Ellis Park. The 4-year-old son of Mizzen Mast has won six races overall and also sports stakes victories in last year's Caesar's and Mystic Lake Derby. Jockey Florent Geroux will be in the irons from post No. 9.

Among the other rivals entered to face Stitched is Calumet Farm's three-time winner Cellist. Trained by Rusty Arnold, Cellist nearly led gate-to-wire three weeks ago in the 1 ½-mile Sycamore (G3) at Keeneland but was caught in the last jump by Bold Act. Cellist will break from the rail under Martin Garcia.

River City Entries

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Two dozen horses are killed in alleged arson attack at upstate New York race track… as police arrest man, 32, and PETA calls for serious repercussions

Boyd H. Fenton was later named as the suspect, before he was arrested and charged with third-degree arson, third-degree burglary, second degree assault and Criminal Mischief in the second.

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Phil Bauer Hopes Xigera Can Use Falls City As ‘Springboard’ To Big 4-Year-Old Season

It's been a remarkable year for the team of Richard Rigney and Phil Bauer and the duo aims to continue their success with their top 3-year-old filly Xigera, who's on target to compete in the Grade 3, $400,000 Falls City on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs.

“Overall, it's been such a special year for Richard and our whole team,” Bauer said. “We're hoping the back half of this year will springboard Xigera to an even better 4-year-old season.”

Xigera began her 3-year-old campaign in June but boasts a solid record of four wins in five starts, most notably a 3 ½-length victory in the Mother Goose Stakes (G2) three weeks ago.

Prior to competing in the Mother Goose, Bauer and Rigney toyed with running Xigera in the Breeders' Cup Distaff but opted to bypass the race.

Overall, Xigera has excelled on both dirt and turf. As a 2-year-old, the daughter of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist broke her maiden win by a convincing 5 ¾ lengths at Saratoga. In her next start, she switched to dirt and finished fourth in the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland. After a perplexing last-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), Bauer opted to give Xigera a break until June. She returned to the races against first-level allowance company at Churchill Downs and confidently defeated 10 rivals by 3 ½ lengths. One month later, Xigera continued her 3-year-old campaign and bested seven rivals in the Tepin Stakes at Ellis Park. Bauer then shipped Xigera back to Saratoga for the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G3) but she finished a distant sixth over the listed “soft” turf.

Following that race, Bauer switched Xigera back to dirt where she cruised to a 6 ¼-length victory in the Seneca Overnight Stakes at Churchill Downs, achieving her career-best Brisnet Speed Rating of 101 at the time. She improved that figure by two points in the Mother Goose.

Xigera resumed her serious training at Churchill Downs on Thursday and posted a swift half-mile workout in :47.80.

The 108th running of the 1 1/8-mile Falls City will take place on Thanksgiving Day. Bauer won last year's edition with Played Hard who went on to win the La Troienne (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day.

A full list of nominations for the Falls City will be released by the racing office in the coming days.

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