Golden Mischief launched a wide move into the stretch and got up the final stages to edge Chalon in Saturday’s $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America (G2) at Keeneland. She stamped her ticket to the November 3 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs in the “Win & You’re In” event and completed six furlongs in 1:09.39.
Florent Geroux was up for Brad Cox on the four-year-old daughter of Into Mischief and Golden Mischief had to survive a claim of foul from the rider of pacesetter Vertical Oak, who was forced to steady between Golden Mischief and Chalon after surrendering the advantage and wound up third.
“She broke super sharp and was a bit closer than what I wanted,” Geroux said. “I waited about two steps to let Chalon go in front of me. I wanted her to be my target, and not the other way around. So I just took a little hold and had her in front of me. I found a nice opening at the eighth pole and shot through it and she just kept on going.”
Off as the 9-2 third choice among 10 females, Golden Mischief earned her first graded stakes triumph after chasing a contested pace in :22.74 and :45.68. She and 4-1 second choice Chalon swung wide into the straightaway and battled all the way to the wire. It was a length back to the 9-1 Vertical Oak, who displayed fine speed after rallying to win the September 15 Open Mind at Churchill Downs from off the pace. Miss Sunset, the 8-5 favorite, wound up another neck back in fourth.
Bred in Kentucky by Fredericka Caldwell, Golden Mischief was purchased by owner Juddmonte Farms for $475,000 at November’s Keeneland sale. She’s now won three straight for her connections, taking the July 5 Saylorville at Prairie Meadows and August 4 West Virginia Secretary of State at Mountaineer, and the seven-time stakes winner has now earned $668,150 from a 21-10-3-0 career line. The bay filly is the lone stakes winner out of the Carson City mare Lanai City.
One race earlier on the program, Bucchero rallied to the lead in deep stretch and held off Will Call by a half-length to win the $250,000 Woodford (G2) for the second straight year. Owned Ironhorse Racing Stable and trained by Tim Glyshaw, the six-year-old horse is the richest Indiana-bred ever with $937,834 in earnings.
“He’s just an iron horse. He’s very special to us,” Glyshaw said. “To have an Indiana-bred come in here for the second year in a row and win on the national stage, that’s something we are very proud of. He just became the all-time money-earning (leader) in Indiana history – something that’s important to me as well. I just can’t thank (owner) Ironhorse (Racing Stable) for allowing me the opportunity to train him.”
The November 3 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs is next for Bucchero, who was beaten only a length when posting a respectable fourth in last year’s Turf Sprint at Del Mar.
Fernando De La Cruz was up on the son of Kantharos, who completed the 5 ½-furlong distance in 1:04.04 on a drying-out turf course rated as “good,” and Bucchero left the starting gate as the 3-1 favorite among 11 runners.
Bucchero stalked the pace in fourth, a few lengths back of Rocket Heat, who established splits in :21.80, :44.77 and :44.77 on a clear lead before throwing in the towel in the final sixteenth of a mile. Bucchero overhauled the pacesetter and Extravagant Kid to strike the front and withstood the late charge of Will Call who closed fast from off the pace at 5-1. It was another half-length back to the 5-1 Extravagant Kid, who edged 12-1 Angaston by a neck for third.
Bred by Southern Chase Farm and Karen Dodd, Bucchero is out of the General Meeting mare Meetmeontime and is a half-brother to the dam of three-year-old World of Trouble, who exits a pair of convincing turf sprint stakes wins. Bucchero notched his seventh overall stakes victory and his career ledger reads 30-11-6-3.
