Into Mischief

Having produced a five-furlong breeze which pleased trainer Brad Cox and completed his winter season in Indiantown, FL Friday morning, GI Florida Derby hero Tappan Street (Into Mischief) is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs Saturday morning. Going the five panels in company in 1:01.40 at Payson Park Training Center, it marked the penultimate breeze on the sophomore's schedule in advance of his expected start in the GI Kentucky Derby May 3. Tappan Street worked with stablemate 'TDN Rising Star' Rapture (Uncle Mo) for the second straight week. The son...

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm OCALA, FL - It was mid-morning Wednesday when Kerri Radcliffe made the first seven-figure purchase of the day, going to $1.05 million for a son of Nyquist, and, by the time the bloodstock agent made a session-topping bid of $1.45 million for a colt by Gun Runner just three hips from the end of the day, a total of six juveniles had sold for seven figures during the second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Wednesday. Through...

An Into Mischief full-brother (hip 416) to MSW Taraz lit up the bid board at OBS Wednesday, selling for $1,400,000 to Mahmud Mouni from the Kings Equine consignment. Out of the Empire Maker mare Silk Route, the colt breezed his furlong in the sale's co-fastest time of :9 4/5. First dam Silke Route is a daughter of G1SP Jibe who also produced the dam of GSW Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) while third dam Slightly Dangerous is responsible for a pair of European champions in Commander in Chief (GB) (Dancing...

With Spanish moss hanging smokily in the sunbeams, live oaks spread their embrace like wise old graybeards in conference. They make the pasture a little harder to maintain, but it's worth the extra effort to give the horses all that deep shade during the dog days of summer. And while Dr. Krista Seltzer tends to apologize that there's "nothing fancy" about Solera Farm, in many ways it appeals as an edifying alternative to more industrial operations. Certainly there are a couple of stallions here exemplary of the independent outlook Krista...

Al Pike is set to retire from his position as director of sales and the conditioner for 2-year-olds in-training at Highland Training Center, and will be replaced by Colin Brennan after the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale in May ends, the center announced via press release. While Pike will be retiring to Lexington, Kentucky with Brennan making the move to Texas, Pike will continue to work with Highlander in a consulting and advisory role. The retiring director and training began his career with horses in 1978 but eventually transitioned to a fruitful...

The road to the 151st GI Kentucky Derby concludes with Saturday's GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland. Qualifying points are awarded to the first five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale, but won't be enough to have an impact on the first Saturday in May. With a field of nine entered and at least a pair of scratches anticipated, favoritism should come down to either 'TDN Rising Star' Bullard (Gun Runner) or Praetor (Into Mischief). Scratched out of the GII Rebel S. due to a fever, the impressive last-to-first GIII Bob...

Tappan Street (Into Mischief) and Sovereignty (Into Mischief), one-two in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, breezed Friday morning at Payson Park while preparing for their scheduled starts in the GI Kentucky Derby. WinStar Farm LLC, CHC Inc. and Cold Press Racing's Tappan Street, who defeated Sovereignty by 1 1/4 lengths Mar. 29, breezed a half-mile in company with 3-year-old stablemate Rapture (Uncle Mo). "He went very well. I had him in :48 2/5, 1:01 3/5. It was a good move, executed very, very well. Obviously, inside of Rapture. It was...

9th-Gulfstream, $43,000, Msw, 4-10, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:35.60, fm, 2 1/4 lengths. OBEISSANTE (f, 3, Into Mischief--Lucky Folie {SW, $118,292}, by Distorted Humor) was unveiled on the Gulfstream turf in a sprint Feb. 15 and finished fifth. Drawn along the rail for her first two turn test and as a 7-2 shot here, the homebred settled midpack under a firm hold heading to the initial call. Obeissante bided her time up the backstretch, but around the far turn she began to get into gear by executing a sweeping move to...

1st-Keeneland, $110,000, Msw, 4-8, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.51, ft, 2 1/2 lengths. INVICTUS (c, 3, Into Mischief--Serengeti Empress {MGISW, $2,175,653}, by Alternation) had not been seen since finishing a well-beaten seventh in the 6 1/2-furlong Saratoga maiden race won in 'TDN Rising Star' style by Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie) last July. The 8-5 second choice was hustled out to the early lead, but allowed favored Camp Hale (Mo Town) to take control and then settled in third as longshot Ship Ship Hooray (Midshipman) shot up the rail to lead as the quarter...

7th-KEE, $120k, OC125k/NW1X, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 4:12 p.m. ET. 'TDN Rising Star' LION OF JUSTICE (Into Mischief), a $1.1-million KEESEP yearling purchase, stretches to two turns following a jaw-dropping, front-running debut score with a 92 Beyer Speed Figure going a one-turn mile at Colonial Mar. 15. His dam Ever So Clever (Medaglia d'Oro), a 'TDN Rising Star' herself, won the 2017 GIII Fantasy S. and has also produced GSW Everso Mischievous (Into Mischief). Lion of Justice is campaigned in partnership by St. Elias Stable, Talla Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and...

In racing, the advent of spring doesn't just mean delightful weather and foals capering through fields. It also means a multiplication of the number of graded events across the nation. The month of March boasted more graded races in the U.S. than January and February combined. With GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks preps in full swing, top older campaigners returning from winter breaks, and 2-year-old racing just around the corner, it's an exciting time in the sport. We took a look at trends and notable items from the country's graded...

A week after we saluted the impact of his daughters on the GI Kentucky Derby trail, suddenly Tapit might also have found a colt to redress the one glaring omission on his resume. At the same time, the emergence of Sandman also contributes to a remarkable reciprocation by a still more venerable distaff influence. Tapit mares having produced American Promise, Tiztastic and Final Gambit across consecutive weekends, Distorted Humor is plainly not to be outdone. Both the big winners last Saturday were out of daughters of the WinStar legend; moreover...