By Brian DiDonato
Members of the TDN staff reveal what TDN Rising Star they're most excited to see race in 2019.
Instagrand (Into Mischief) has to be considered one of the most-anticipated runners of next year, both due to the brilliance he showed this season and the much-talked-about decision by his owner Larry Best to cut short his juvenile campaign with an eye towards the future. The $1.2-million Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream co-topper (:10 flat breeze) couldn't have been more powerful taking his Los Alamitos debut by 10 lengths in June (replay), and just floated away from his overmatched rivals to win as he pleased in the GII Best Pal S. Aug. 11 (replay).
There's absolutely no denying Instagrand's talent, but part of what makes him such an interesting 2019 prospect to watch is that he still has questions to answer. He's yet to try further than six furlongs, and with a brilliant, speedy runner like him there's always a question of how far they'll go (pedigree suggests he should route). Plus, it'll be interesting to see how Best's surprising decision to bypass the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile will play out. The relative newcomer may look like a genius come the first Saturday in May, but it remains to be seen whether or not attempting to pause the career of an uninjured horse like Instagrand will work out the way it was designed to.
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