Pretty Mischievous Steals the Show in Rachel Alexandra

Nine of the last twenty-six winners of the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) have gone onto Kentucky Oaks (G1) glory. With those favorable figures, that means there’s a 35% chance we’ll see this year’s race victress, the Godolphin homebred Pretty Mischievous, wearing the blanket of lilies on the first Friday in May. Pretty Mischievous, collecting 50 points towards the Kentucky Oaks Feb. 18 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, earned her first graded stakes score and fourth win of her career with her upset of the highly regarded Hoosier Philly. Slammed down to 1-5 at the windows off her sparkling undefeated juvenile campaign, Hoosier Philly bobbled at the break, was last of six early, and never put in her patented stretch kick, checking in a distant third in her 3-year-old debut. “She did try,” jockey Edgar Morales said of Hoosier Philly after the race. “Hopefully next time we’ll get a better break and a better trip.” While there was disappointment from the Hoosier Philly camp as her once flawless record became tarnished and talks of the Kentucky Derby (G1) skidded to a halt, trainer Brendan Walsh was overjoyed, but not completely surprised, at the gutsy winning performance put on by Pretty Mischievous. “She never missed a beat from when we gave her her first start last year,” Walsh said. “In the last few weeks she’s really come into her own and we were quietly confident. If she was going to be good enough or not was the question and I think she proved today that she was.” Gaffalione, aboard Pretty Mischievous for all but one of her starts—her last out 3 1/4-length tally over eventual Silverbulletday Stakes winner The Alys Look—worked out an uncomplicated trip for the Into Mischief filly on Saturday. As the Todd Pletcher-trained Miracle raced through uncontested fractions of :25.02, :48.85, and 1:13.05, Gaffalione kept Pretty Mischievous perched in the wings, tucking in between horses until it was go time. At the top of the lane, when it soon became apparent Hoosier Philly wasn’t the Hoosier Philly from last year, all eyes fell on Pretty Mischievous and Miracle as the pair locked horns in a lively spar to the wire. In the end, Pretty Mischievous got the better of the stubborn frontrunner by 3/4 of a length. She clocked the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.15 on a fast main track. “Before she ever ran Brendan told me he had a real special one at the barn,” Gaffalione recalled of Pretty Mischievous. “I came over and worked her a few times and we were all really high on her and she just keeps improving and growing both mentally and physically. She put it all together today.” Pretty Mischievous ($18.20) pocketed $180,000 from the $291,000 Rachel Alexandra purse. Twice a winner at Churchill Downs last year before a third place-finish to Hoosier Philly in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2), the bay now sits atop the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 63 points. U.A.E Oaks (G3) captress Mimi Kakushi and Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel follow with 50 and 48 points, respectively. Hoosier Philly, with 25 points, remains in the number four slot. The filly is the second foal to race out of the grade 1-winning Tapit mare Pretty City Dancer. Sold for $3.5 million at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale, Pretty City Dancer has one other foal to race, the 4-year-old filly Ornamental, and is the dam of a yearling filly by Medaglia d'Oro.