The betting public was pretty sure that an Into Mischief filly out of a Tapit mare would emerge victorious in Saturday's GII Rachel Alexandra S. Presented by Fasig-Tipton, but they only got it half right. It wasn't 2-5 Hoosier Philly who picked up the 50 GI Kentucky Oaks points, but instead Godolphin homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Pretty Mischievous who starred at Fair Grounds. Pacesetting longshot Miracle (by Into Mischief's younger brother Mendelssohn) stretched Pretty Mischievous to 3/4 of a length, and was another 7 3/4 lengths clear of Hoosier Philly.
A good-looking off-the-pace winner first up at Churchill Downs sprinting Sept. 18, the Brendan Walsh-trained Pretty Mischievous added an allowance in the slop there at the end of October. The daughter of GISW Pretty City Dancer was five lengths behind Hoosier Philly in third when stretching out for the GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 26, but bounced right back to take the local Untapable S. on the day after Christmas. She was flattered when runner-up The Alys Look (Connect) bested stablemate Chop Chop (City of Light) in last month's Silverbulletday S., and the 80 Beyer Speed Figure she earned that day was only one point behind what Hoosier Philly earned in the Golden Rod. Chop Chop owned the field's best Beyer of 88, and was the clear second choice in the wagering–Pretty Mischievous was third in the betting at 8-1.
Hoosier Philly bobbled at the break, but Pretty Mischievous was off cleanly and drafted in between foes just behind Miracle. She got down to the rail under Tyler Gaffalione behind a :48.85 half, and was asked in earnest following six furlongs in 1:13.05. Miracle boxed on, and Hoosier Philly started to come alive out wide, but Pretty Mischievous wanted it most, and wore down the pacesetter despite that one leaning on her a bit in the lane.
“Before she ran Brendan told me we had a really special one in the barn,” Gaffalione said. “She keeps improving physically and mentally. Today, I sat in a perfect spot and let Johnny [Velazquez] go on Miracle while Luis [Saez and Untapable third Vahva {Gun Runner}] tracked inside.”
Walsh, who was celebrating his first Rachel Alexandra win, said, “She never missed a beat from her first start at two until now. We knew we'd have to give her a rest at some point because we didn't want to go to the well too often. We were quietly confident she'd be good enough and today we found out she is. Now, we'll see how she comes out of things, talk things over with the ownership team and get her to be 110% on the big day in May.”
With the 50 points she picked up Saturday, Pretty Mischievous now sits atop the GI Kentucky Oaks standings with 63 points.
Saturday, Fair Grounds
RACHEL ALEXANDRA S. PRESENTED BY FASIG-TIPTON-GII,
$291,000, Fair Grounds, 2-18, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:45.15, ft.
1–PRETTY MISCHIEVOUS, 122, f, 3, by Into Mischief
         1st Dam: Pretty City Dancer (GISW, $286,344), by Tapit
         2nd Dam: Pretty City, by Carson City
         3rd Dam: Pretty Special, by Riverman
'TDN Rising Star' 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Godolphin
(KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $180,000.
Lifetime Record: SP, 5-4-0-1, $421,310. Werk Nick Rating:
A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Miracle, 122, f, 3, Mendelssohn–Good Omen, by Smart
Strike. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($110,000 Wlg '20 FTKNOV;
$250,000 Ylg '21 SARAUG; $360,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR).
O-WinStar Farm LLC and Siena Farm LLC; B-Magnolia Mares,
LLC & Pony Express Sales,Inc. (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
$60,000.
3–Hoosier Philly, 122, f, 3, Into Mischief–Tapella, by Tapit.
($510,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Gold Standard Racing Stable, LLC;
B-Candy Meadows LLC (KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss. $30,000.
Margins: 3/4, 7 3/4, 2. Odds: 8.10, 13.50, 0.40.
Also Ran: Vahva, Chop Chop, Knockyoursocksoff.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO,
sponsored by TVG.
Pedigree Notes:
Perennial leading sire Into Mischief already has five graded stakes winners this year, and is responsible for three of the top four on the Oaks leaderboard with 2022 champion juvenile filly Wonder Wheel third and Hoosier Philly fourth. The Spendthrift super sire now has 63 graded winners but is still in search of a first Kentucky Oaks winner.
Recent GIII Holy Bull S. winner Rocket Can and Hoosier Philly are the other two graded winners by Into Mischief out of Tapit mares, but that number almost certainly has to rise rapidly in the coming years considering they've got seven champion sire titles between them. Tapit, still on the young side as broodmare sire, is responsible for the dams of 39 graded/group winners worldwide thus far.
Pretty Mischievous's dam Pretty City Dancer dead-heated with another Tapit filly in the 2016 GI Spinaway S. for trainer Mark Casse and John Oxley. The $825,000 KEESEP yearling was off the board in subsequent route tries on the Oaks trail, but still fetched $3.5 million while in foal to Medaglia d'Oro at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The resulting filly broke through in a two-turn Indiana maiden special weight in October. Pretty Mischievous came next, but the half-sister to GISW Lear's Princess (Lear Fan) was barren to Uncle Mo for 2021. She produced another Medaglia d'Oro filly last March, and was bred back to Street Sense.
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