Everso Mischievous Strikes Gold In Forty Niner

Formerly known as the Kelso, Saturday's GII Forty Niner S. at Aqueduct may not have Breeders' Cup implications, but as the first graded win in New York for Cristian Torres, who piloted Everso Mischievous (c, 3, Into Mischief–Ever So Clever, by Medaglia d'Oro), it may have felt like the Breeders' Cup. Torres picked up the sixth graded win of his career after earning his first one earlier this year in the GIII Razorback S. at Oaklawn on Last Samurai (Malibu Moon).

“It's unbelievable,” said Torres. “I can't express how I feel. To win a stakes race in any part of the country is awesome, but NYRA? It's great.”

Tracking from second behind 14-1 leader Swiftsure (Uncle Mo) through a first quarter in :23.29 and a half in :45.89, Everso Mischievous collared the frontrunner going into the turn as GII Woodward runner-up Film Star (Flatter) joined the fray to his outside. The three raced across the track, emerging with Everso Mischievous holding a slight advantage as the Chad Brown duo of Dr Ardito (Liam's Map)–who was five for six over this track–and last-out GII Vosburgh runner-up Accretive (Practical Joke) made their own runs. The blinkered Brad Cox winner fought to the wire in determined fashion and dug in to hold a closing Dr Ardito at bay by a half-length, while favorite Accretive just missed second by a nose.

“He was perfect,” said Torres of the winner, who was the lone 3-year-old in the field. “The trip worked out perfect. When we were turning for home, I asked my horse and he took off again. He's a nice horse, so he finished up. They always thought this was a nice horse. In the beginning of his career, he was a little green, but it was just a matter of time that he'd mature. They put blinkers on him at Saratoga and he improved a lot. They're very happy, I'm very happy, and I'm very grateful to ride this kind of horse.”

Everso Mischievous was a $600,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase for China Horse Club and Gandharvi Racing before selling again just over a year later at the Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age sale having not made it to the starting gate. Fergus Galvin picked him up for $85,000. Now a Qatar Racing colorbearer, the bay is two heads shy of being undefeated. He debuted in February at Aqueduct, broke his maiden at second asking in May at Churchill, and has now won three straight, including the Harrods Creek S. at Churchill in his last out Sept. 23. He's never gotten under a 90 Beyer Speed Figure and added blinkers three back, which Cox has said helped him focus.

Pedigree Notes:

Spendthrift's Into Mischief, who will stand for $250,000 again in 2024, is the sire of the Forty Niner winner and 138 other black-type winners worldwide. His 68 graded winners include six Grade I winners this year, tops among North American-based sires. He's led the leading sires list for the past four seasons and is on target to do it again this year.

Active Darley sire Medaglia d'Oro, who stands at Jonabell Farm, has sired the dams of 97 stakes winners. Ever So Clever, dam of Everso Mischievous, is one of his 176 black-type winners worldwide. She has juvenile and yearling full-brothers to the Forty Niner winner and was bred to Jack Christopher for next term. Her 2-year-old is unraced and was a $400,000 RNA at Keeneland September in 2022, while her yearling was a $1.1-million purchase for West Point Thoroughbreds at the recent edition of the same sale.

Saturday, Belmont at the Big A

FORTY NINER S.-GII, $300,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-28, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.32, ft.
1–EVERSO MISCHIEVOUS, 120, c, 3, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: Ever So Clever (GSW, $522,830), by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Foxy Danseur, by Mr. Greeley
                3rd Dam: Ravish Me, by Wild Again
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($600,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $85,000 2yo '22 KEENOV). O-Qatar Racing; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Cristian A. Torres. $165,000. Lifetime Record: 6-4-2-0, $524,640. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Dr Ardito, 122, g, 5, Liam's Map–Delightfully So, by Indian Charlie. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($95,000 Ylg '19 SARAUG). O-Michael J. Caruso and Michael Dubb; B-Fred W. Hertrich lll & John D. Fielding (NY); T-Chad C. Brown. $60,000.
3–Accretive, 122, g, 4, Practical Joke–Mallory Street, by Street Sense. ($180,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Falcon Wood Partners (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $36,000.
Margins: HF, NO, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.60, 6.00, 1.60.
Also Ran: Film Star, Swiftsure, Business Model, Double Crown. Scratched: Synthesis.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Weekend Preview: Stars of Tomorrow Program Anchored By Street Sense

The fall meeting at Churchill Downs gets underway Sunday in what has become its traditional way, with juvenile races comprising the entire 11-race program. When the Triple Crown trail begins in earnest following the turn of the calendar, it will likely feature a handful of horses that raced on the day en route to bigger and better things, and the $200,000 GIII Street Sense S. has the feel of a key race going forward.

The form of the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity is very much on display, and while that event's top two finishers–'TDN Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) and The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso)– will be making their way to Santa Anita for next Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the two horses that finished immediately in their wake will do their part to frank the race.

Despite graduating by a distance at odds-on and earning an 86 Beyer Speed Figure, Generous Tipper (Street Sense) was friendless in the market at better than 17-1 for the Breeders' Futurity, but turned in a bold effort to be third after trailing for the opening half-mile. When all was said and done, he was a neck better than Northern Flame (Flameaway), who won his maiden in wire-to-wire fashion at this track Sept. 15.

Locked's stable companion Moonlight (Audible) is the new shooter and potential fly in the ointment, as he stretched away to break his maiden by eight lengths in a rained-off maiden at Aqueduct Sept. 28, while Liberal Arts (Arrogate) looks to improve off his closing third in the one-mile GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 16.

That's A Wrap at Keeneland…

Saturday marks the final day of racing for the Keeneland fall meet, with a pair of graded events on tap. You'd have to travel all the way back to Blame in 2009 for the last time a 3-year-old defeated his elders in the GII Hagyard Fayette S.–his sire Arch accomplished the same feat in 1998–and such is the objective for Il Miracolo (Gun Runner) on Saturday. Seventh to Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Belmont S. June 10, the chestnut has since held his own in stakes company, finishing second in the Curlin S. July 21 before winning the GIII Smarty Jones S. at Parx Aug. 22. The chestnut was hardly disgraced when last seen in the GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 23, as he rallied from behind midfield to round out the exacta behind the GI Breeders' Cup Classic-bound Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) and Dreamlike (Gun Runner), pre-entered for two championship races.

Trademark (Upstart) is the very lukewarm 9-2 morning-line favorite off his head defeat in the GII Lukas Classic Sept. 30, but he'll have to work out a trip from gate 10, while Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) is a threat on his best, though there appears to be plenty of other speed signed on.

The co-featured GIII Bryan Station S. lures a field of 10, led by the exciting Talk of the Nation (Quality Road), who bounced back from a pair of runner-up efforts to win the $1-million Gun Runner S. at Kentucky Downs Sept. 2. He squares off here with Smokey Mandate (Strong Mandate), third in the Gun Runner and second to More Than Looks (More Than Ready) in the Sept. 30 Jefferson Cup S. at Churchill. The latter was entered in the Bryan Station, but breezed Friday at Keeneland and appears headed for next Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Mile.

Xigera Opts For Path of Least Resistance in NY…

For a time, Rigney Racing's Xigera (Nyquist) was under strong consideration for next weekend's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, but connections have chosen a more conservative course and have the 6-5 morning-line choice for Satuday's GII Mother Goose S. at Aqueduct. Though the $190,000 Keeneland September yearling won her maiden on the turf and added this year's Tepin S. on the grass, she could not have been more impressive in shooting clear to take the Seneca Overnight S. by a dominating 6 1/4 lengths Sept. 23. Anything approaching that effort would be tough to topple here, but she does encounter some classy rivals in the form of GI Central Bank Ashland S. victress Defining Purpose (Cross Traffic) as well as the enigmatic Julia Shining (Curlin), winner of the GII Demoiselle S. at this venue last December.

The GII Forty Niner S., formerly the GII Kelso S., serves as a course-and-distance prep for the GII Cigar Mile H. during the Aqueduct meet and looks to be a two-horse affair between Accretive (Practical Joke), runner-up to Cody's Wish (Curlin) in the GII Vosburgh S. Oct. 1, and Everso Mischievous (Into Mischief), who looks to negotiate this class hike, having drawn away for a first black-type score in the Sept. 23 Harrods Creek S. at Churchill.

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