Mizdirection successfully defends Monrovia title

Mizdirection is now perfect in four starts on Santa Anita’s downhill turf (Benoit Photos) Mizdirection beat the boys in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Santa Anita’s downhill turf course November 3, and on Sunday returned to defend her title in the Grade 2, $150,000 Monrovia over that same course. The five-year-old daughter of Mizzen Mast is now four-for-four on that unique downhill green after finishing about the about 6 1/2-furlongs in 1:11 4/5 over the firm going. A heavy rainstorm blew into the Arcadia, California, area just as the six-distaffer field was loading into the gate but the sudden downpour didn’t deter dual stakes victress Kindle from gunning for the lead under jockey Edwin Maldonado. Mizdirection wasn’t as quick at the break, but quickly pulled up to Kindle’s outside after splits of :21 3/5 and :43 2/5. Kindle rounded the turn and flew home with Mizdirection and jockey Mike Smith hot on her heels. For a moment it appeared the Indian Charlie mare would pull off the upset, but Mizdirection hit another gear and surged past for the half-length victory. “When I saw Kindle get away as well as she did and relax as well as she did, the game plan turned into me thinking that I needed to be closer to run her down,” Smith said. “If (Kindle) would have come out of there really running, I might have set back a little bit, but she was cool, calm and collected. So I thought I had better be closer, because when she crosses that dirt, she’s going to kick. And she did.

“My filly
actually made me idle for a sixteenth of a mile
there, where I wondered if I was going to get there.
But she gave me another surge and a nice late kick,
and galloped out really well. Hopefully that’s an
indication that she’ll at least get a mile. I
certainly believe so. Hopefully I prove myself right.”

“You had to be (closer)
under the pace conditions. There was no speed in the
race (besides Kindle),” trainer Mike Puype praised
Smith’s ride. “If no one was going to go, so
if we don’t, I couldn’t count on (jockey Garrett) Gomez (on Broken
Dreams) pushing it. I knew we’d have to be the one
that would be closest to her.

“His ride won the race.
Any other rider doesn’t win that race today, no way,
because that mare (Kindle) ran great at Hollywood
(winning the Cool Air) when she was the lone speed
and she’s gotten better. She’s a runner. Of course
(he was concerned that Mizdirection might not get up). But she threw it down.”

Sent off the 4-5 favorite, Mizdirection paid $3.80, $2.40 and $2.10 to her
many backers. Kindle was the second pick at 9-5 and proved best of the rest in
second. Givine, Byrama and Broken Dreams completed the order under the wire
after Curvy Cat was scratched.

“She did
perfect, she did everything right,” Maldonado said.
“I was hoping for
Mike Smith to be farther back. When I looked to my
right before we even hit the three-eighths (pole) he was
almost a length behind me, that surprised me.”

Mizdirection broke into the millionaire ranks with her second straight
Monrovia win, having thus far banked $1,004,621. All but three of her 13 career
races have come against stakes company, and the gray mare has yet to place out
of the money, though she did finish fourth once before being moved up to third
via the disqualification of another rival.

That particular race came in the Grade 2 Raven Run in October 2011 at
Keeneland and joins the Great Lady M. at Hollywood Park earlier this season, as
well as the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap and Manhattan Beach in 2011, as
Mizdirection’s four stakes placings. In addition to her two Monrovia scores and
Breeders’ Cup triumph, which was her first race back from a five-month layoff
following the Great Lady M., the mare also boasts wins in the Clocker’s Corner
Handicap, Sandy Blue Handicap and Las Cienegas Handicap.

Mizdirection is campaigned by a partnership made up of noted sports
broadcaster Jim Rome’s Jungle Racing Stable, William Strauss, Daniel Grohs,
Boris Beljak and
KMN Racing et al. With 13 races now under her girth, she boasts a scorecard that
reads 8-4-1.

“Right when you
think maybe she’s beat, she just digs deep and finds
a way to do it. And as I always say in this moment,
I could not be more proud of her,” Rome said after
the race. “She’s got another
gear. She does not like to lose. When she’s got a
good target to shoot for, she usually turns out pretty well.”

Puype indicated after the Monrovia he wants to stretch the mare
out a bit and has tabbed the Grade 2 Buena Vista on February 18 going a mile as
Mizdirection’s likely next start. Her previous tries at a mile, and the only
times she’s run farther than seven furlongs, came in the Sandy Blue and San
Clement at Del Mar.

Bred in Kentucky by Joseph Perrotta, Mizdirection was produced by the Clever
Trick mare Deceptive, who is also the dam of stakes winner Hurricane Bernie.
This is the extended family of Grade 1 vixen Hooh Why and Grade 3 victor Jaded
Dancer.

Mizdirection was a $50,000 two-year-old in training purchase at the Fasig-Tipton
Midlantic May sale and previously brought $85,000 as a Keeneland September
yearling.

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