into mischief | Horse Racing Free Tips

Mandaloun Overcomes Tough Trip in Monmouth’s Pegasus

Juddmonte Farms' Mandaloun (Into Mischief), who may yet be named this year's GI Kentucky Derby winner should Medina Spirit (Protonico) be disqualified, held off a determined Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile) to kick off the second half of his sophomore campaign with a win in the TVG.com Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park Sunday.

Sent off the 1-5 favorite while facing just four rivals, Mandaloun was squeezed back to last soon after the break and trailed the compact field as longshot Lugamo (Chitu) set a leisurely pace up front with Weyburn a threatening presence to his outside. Weyburn, upset winner of the GIII Gotham S. in March, took command on the far turn, but Mandaloun was making progress of his own under energetic handling from jockey Florent Geroux. The bay colt charged into the lane with a three-wide move and, despite being floated out farther on the track as Weyburn drifted at the top of the stretch, looked set to power clear to an easy victory. But he seemed to idle in deep stretch as Weyburn re-rallied to just miss catching the favorite in the final jumps.

“We didn't expect that [being pinched at the start],” said winning trainer Brad Cox. “We thought he might be on the lead or tracking a couple. We found ourselves last going into the first turn. But overall it was a big effort. I think he closed into a soft pace. He probably had to start his run a touch early given the fact that he was last. He ran a big race. Florent made the comment that he may have been looking around late. But he made the lead by himself. Overall it was a good effort for him to ship over here.”

Geroux added, “He was nice and relaxed during the race. It was nice to see that he was able to settle down on his and everything worked out great. The important thing was not to rush him too hard [after the start]. I had a lot of horse. He was passing horses one by one.”

Geroux said that Monmouth Park's new stringent whip rules may have led to Mandaloun idling in deep stretch.

“At the end when he made the lead maybe he was looking around a little,” Geroux said. “It was a new thing for him not having the whip for encouragement. I saw the other horse [Weyburn] coming inside of us. But he was still running pretty good at the end. He had to work for it but I don't think it was a really hard race on him. He did not come back blowing hard at all.”

Mandaloun came up just a half-length short when second behind Medina Spirit in the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby, but the results of that race remain in limbo following the first-place finisher's subsequent betamethasone positive.

The Juddmonte homebred was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his debut win at Keeneland last October and concluded his two-for-two juvenile campaign with an optional-claimer victory at Churchill Downs in November. He opened 2021 with a third-place effort as the 7-5 favorite in the Jan 16 GIII Lecomte S. and rebounded with a win in the Feb. 13 GII Risen Star S. He was a 26-1 longshot in the Derby off a dull sixth-place effort in the Mar.20 GII Louisiana Derby.

Mandaloun could be making a return trip to the Jersey Shore for the July 17 GI TVG.com Haskell S.

“I think ultimately we're going to figure out what toll it took on him once we get back home [to Churchill Downs],” Cox said of future plans for Mandaloun. “The ship over for the race, the ship back, things such as that. We'll put it all together and process it and let him tell us where he is over the next couple of weeks. It was a good effort and hopefully he can bounce out of it in good order and be ready in five weeks [for the Haskell].”

Pedigree Notes:
Mandaloun is a fourth-generation homebred for the late Juddmonte principal Prince Khalid Bin Abdullah. Juddmonte purchased his fourth dam Queen of Song (His Majesty) for $700,000 in foal to Seattle Slew at Keeneland November back in 1989. Mandaloun's dam Brooch is a two-time group winner in Europe and a half-sister to MSW & MGSP Caponata (Selkirk). The 10-year-old mare has a yearling full-brother to Mandaloun and produced a colt by War Front this year. This is also the family of Irish Highweight Emulous (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and group winner First Sitting (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

Sunday, Monmouth Park
TVG.COM PEGASUS S., $147,500, Monmouth, 6-13, 3yo,
1 1/16m, 1:44.63, ft.
1–MANDALOUN, 122, c, 3, by Into Mischief
        1st Dam: Brooch (MGSW-Ire, $217,059), by Empire Maker
        2nd Dam: Daring Diva (GB), by Dansili (GB)
        3rd Dam: Aspiring Diva, by Distant View
'TDN Rising Star' O/B-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY); T-Brad H.
   Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $90,000. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP,
   7-4-1-1, $1,051,252.
2–Weyburn, 122, c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Sunday Affair, by A.P.
Indy. O/B-Chiefswood Stables Limited (ON); T-James A.
Jerkens. $30,000.
3–Dr Jack, 116, c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Marion Ravenwood, by
A.P. Indy. ($250,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $170,000 2yo '20
OBSAPR). O-Harrell Ventures, LLC; B-Ashview Farm & Colts
Neck Stables (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $15,000.
Margins: NK, 2HF, 15HF. Odds: 0.30, 4.90, 5.30.
Also Ran: Brooklyn Strong, Lugamo. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Cox: Kentucky Derby Runner-Up Mandaloun Using Pegasus To Build Fitness, Prep For Haskell

Trainer Brad Cox is looking for Sunday's TVG.com Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park to serve a dual purpose for Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun.

One is to get some added fitness into his speedy 3-year-old, who has been idle since May 1. The other is to give the son of Into Mischief a race over the track.

Both are key elements in setting up Mandaloun's next start: The $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes on July 17, the Grade 1 race that serves as the centerpiece to the Monmouth Park meet.

“I want him to get some experience at Monmouth and I'm looking to use the race as a fitness tool, as a prep from the Haskell,” said Cox, who plans to fly in from Kentucky on Sunday morning to watch the race in person. “I didn't want to go 11 weeks without a race. This was the race we thought made the most sense on the calendar.”

The 40th edition of the Pegasus Stakes, at a mile and a sixteenth for 3-year-olds, has a recent history that suggests Cox's horse will have to earn whatever he gets.

Two years ago, disqualified Kentucky Derby winner Maximum Security finished second as the 1-20 favorite to King for a Day in the Pegasus Stakes before going on to win the Haskell.

Mandaloun, a Kentucky-bred colt owned by Juddmonte, sports a 3-1-1 line from six career starts with earnings of $961,252. He will enter the Pegasus off a six-week layoff.

“He's doing great,” said Cox. “Obviously we wouldn't be coming if he wasn't doing well. He ships today (Thursday) and hopefully he will get settled in quickly and be ready for Sunday.”

These are heady times for Cox, who is also mapping out a schedule for Belmont Stakes winner and last year's 2-year-old champion Essential Quality. Cox's plans have Essential Quality shipping to Saratoga in July and pointing to the Travers Stakes.

As hectic as it is for him, Cox would not have it any other way.

“I love everything about it,” he said. “It's why you get up and do this and spend so much time and effort and basically dedicate your life to it. It's the big stage.

“For me, 3-year-olds on the dirt going two turns, that's what it is all about. This is the division I like. The Triple Crown is a challenging thing for horses and it takes special horses to compete at that level. I feel very fortunate to be a part of it.”

Mandaloun's stalking, close-to-the pace running style looks to be well suited for Monmouth Park, too.

“He is usually forwardly placed,” said Cox. “Any time you have speed like he does it's a big advantage. I'm not saying he is going to be on the lead in this race but he will be near the lead I'm sure. Any time you have his running style it normally puts you in a good position.”

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Broodmare Of The Year Leslie’s Lady Pensioned From Breeding

Leslie's Lady, the 2016 Broodmare of the Year and dam of some of the most important Thoroughbreds of the past decade, was pensioned from breeding duties earlier this spring, Thoroughbred Daily News reports.

The 25-year-old daughter of Tricky Creek's top-flight produce record includes Grade 1 winner and leading commercial sire Into Mischief, four-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder, and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner and young sire Mendelssohn.

She also produced America's Joy, a daughter of American Pharoah who sold for $8.2 million at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Mendelssohn, by Scat Daddy, sold as a yearling for $3 million, while the Curlin filly Leslie's Harmony brought $1.1 million as a yearling.

Leslie's Lady resides at Clarkland Farm in Lexington, Ky., where owner Fred Mitchell told the TDN that the mare looked as healthy and spry as ever, but he was on the fence about breeding this season her due to her age. She was cycling early in the season, but when she stopped cycling in April after visits to the teaser, Mitchell decided to pension the mare.

Knowing for a while that Leslie's Lady was approaching pensioning age, Mitchell retained Marr Time, a Not This Time filly born in 2019, to one day carry on her dam's legacy in the Clarkland broodmare band. The filly is training for her debut start with Brad Cox.

Clarkland Farm will also retain Leslie's Lady's final foal, Love You Irene, a Kantharos filly born last year.

Though she ended up at the top of her profession, Leslie's Lady came from modest means. She was bred in Kentucky by David Hager II, and she sold as a newly-turned yearling for $8,000 at the 1997 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. She was purchased later that year by James Hines Jr., for $27,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Leslie's Lady won five of 28 starts for earnings of $187,014. She ran nine times as a juvenile, highlighted by a victory in the Hoosier Debutante Stakes at Hoosier Park. The following season, her campaign included a runner-up effort in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

She joined Hines' broodmare band after retiring from the track, and she produced four foals for her owner. Among them was a Harlan's Holiday colt later named Into Mischief.

After Hines' death, Leslie's Lady was cataloged in the 2006 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale as part of her late owner's dispersal. Offered in foal to Orientate, the mare sold to Clarkland Farm for $100,000. The ensuing ten foals bred by Clarkland Farm have sold from the Clarkland consignment for a combined $12.9 million, and they've earned a combined $8,757,202 on the racetrack.

Leslie’s Lady Living Well In Retirement

“Leslie's Lady is retired,” Clarkland Farm's Fred Mitchell reported. “And she is happy, fat and dappled.”

The 2016 Broodmare of the Year has produced two fillies following America's Joy (American Pharoah), a now three-year-old half-sister to GISWs Into Mischief, Beholder and Mendelssohn and the highest-priced yearling filly in Keeneland sales history.

While Leslie's Lady is now 25, a good deal of thought went into the decision to officially retire her this spring.

“Early on in the season she was all dappled out and looked like a 14-year-old mare,” Mitchell said. “She was cycling but I said, 'I'm not sure if I want to breed Leslie. She's been so good to us.' But when it got to be April, I said if she cycled I might breed her because I looked at her out running across the field, up on her hind feet bucking and kicking with her buddy. I started to tease her after that and she hasn't cycled since so she made up her mind for me and I didn't have to make the final decision.”

The bay daughter of Tricky Creek now has three fillies in the pipeline that have yet to see the starting gate.

The first is America's Joy, the $8.2 million purchase by Whisper Hill Farm. The sophomore has almost a dozen recorded works at Whisper Hill's training center, but Mitchell and his family are still reliving her Keeneland September Sale two years ago.

“When we took the American Pharoah filly to the sales, I was hoping maybe we could top the sale with her because we had done it with Mendelssohn and that was a dream come true,” Mitchell said. “When the sale started the first day, there was a $2.5 million yearling and I said sale topping was now out of the question. Then the next day, a $4 million colt came. A couple people came by the barn and said she was going to bring more than that.”

Mitchell didn't start to believe them until the walkover to the back walking ring.

“There were cameras all the way from the bottom of the hill,” he recalled. “When we got to the sales ring, there was hardly any room with people with their cameras out taking picture after picture. I had never seen so many spectators. Then when she went in the ring and passed the $4 million mark, I said, 'What is going on?' I just couldn't believe it.”

“It was something you never could have dreamed of,” he continued. “It doesn't leave us much to shoot for from now on so I think that's our plateau. It has made life a lot easier for [wife] Nancy and I. We can now be taken care of no matter what age we get to and we know the kids have enough to be taken care of. The American Pharoah filly made that possible, her and Leslie.”

Knowing it would be nearly impossible to top the American Pharoah filly's accomplishments in the sales ring, Mitchell decided that Leslie's Lady's next foal, a daughter of Not This Time, would remain under the Clarkland banner for his family's next generation.

“I thought it would give the girls a nice start on a broodmare band later on and give them something to look forward to,” he explained.

Now a juvenile in training with Brad Cox, the bay filly is named Marr Time in honor of Nancy's ancestor John Wesley Marr.

“He was an old guy that never changed his clocks,” Mitchell said. “He stayed on Central Standard Time year-round. He would say, 'When the sun changes and my horses and I know that the time changed, I'll change. But not 'til then.'”

Marr Time floats over the track at Keeneland.

Mitchell said he found the May-foaled Marr Time to be very similar to America's Joy.

“She was exceptional from the time she was a foal,” he said. “The American Pharoah might have been a little bit bigger as a foal, but Marr Time is a lovely filly and a good-moving filly. Brad [Cox] says he's satisfied every time they breeze her and says she's a classy filly. It keeps you excited and hopefully she'll make it to the races, break her maiden and go from there.”

Marr Time had three recorded works at Keeneland last month.

“We've had her here since February and she's been learning all her basics at Keeneland,” Cox assistant Tessa Bisha said. “She has learned about the starting gate and she can gallop out of the gate pretty well. She has learned about the pony and company, so she's well on her way to her first start.”

Mitchell said he chose to send Leslie's Lady to Not This Time, then a $15,000 second-book sire, because each of the star broodmare's Grade I winners hailed from the Storm Cat line.

“Not This Time wasn't the most popular horse when he went to stud, but he was well-bred,” he said. “I loved him. He was gorgeous. After he came out last year with the 2-year-old runners, I wasn't so dumb after all.”

The next year, Mitchell decided to send Leslie's Lady back to another Storm Cat-line sire in Kantharos. The famed mare produced another filly and again, Mitchell determined that this one would stay with their family. He named the bay Love You Irene after his mother.

Now a yearling, Love You Irene is thriving at Clarkland.

“She's almost a June foal but she's a very nice individual and a very good-moving filly,” Mitchell said. “She's very pleasant to be around except when she gets a little teed off. She will take a hunk out of you, which I like to see out of fillies.”

Mitchell said they're still unsure of where this filly will land when it comes time for her to go to a trainer, noting that he currently has four juveniles in training with four different trainers and will make the decision based off those results.

Clarkland famously purchased Leslie's Lady at the 2006 Keeneland November Sale for an even $100,000. She was offered in foal to Orientate and had a yearling colt by Harlan's Holiday in the pipeline. Just over a year later, that colt won the GI CashCall Futurity.

Love You Irene, by Kantharos, is the last foal out of Leslie's Lady.

“When Into Mischief won his first stake, they came to me and wanted to know if I would sell Leslie,” Mitchell recounted. “They got to throwing out some pretty good figures. I said, 'No, Leslie is not for sale. If I get the money for her, how am I going to replace her?' Nobody knew she was going to have two more graded stakes winners. But after that, nobody has ever tried to buy her from me.”

The last year has been particularly special for the Clarkland team as they've watched Into Mischief's success at stud explode into the stratosphere.

“He might turn out to be one of the greatest sires we've every seen,” Mitchell said. “We root for the Into Mischief every time we see them in a race. It doesn't make a difference whether they're favored or nor, they still come up and win some way or another.”

Of each of Leslie's Lady's foals that Mitchell has worked with, he fails to pick a favorite.

“Beholder, Mendelssohn and America's Joy were very similar,” he noted. “But I would have to say America's Joy was the most overwhelming individual to look at. She was more like American Pharoah where anybody could do anything they wanted with her. But Beholder had a presence to her and with Mendelssohn, I didn't know what kind of racehorse he would make, but I knew he was a breeder's dream. You could take any type of mare to this horse and he would probably suit them. When we were showing him, he never took his eye off whoever was looking at him. All three horses were very similar when it came to that.”

While Mitchell is looking forward to watching these last few daughters of 'Leslie' make it to the starting gate, his greatest pride will always come in showing off the famed broodmare herself. She spends most of her day in a large paddock near the entrance to the historic farm and she naps in one of Clarkland's original barns constructed from trees that once graced the property centuries ago.

“When we bought Leslie for $100,000, you never could have dreamed that she would turn out to be the broodmare she is now,” Mitchell said. “It's indescribable what Leslie has meant to the family. It put us where we can enjoy what we do. We've increased the broodmare band and the girls will have a nice band to deal with now. It's just something that you would have never dreamed could happen to a small farm like Clarkland.”

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