Golden Mischief Earns Breakout Score in TCA

The best-laid plans have a way of mocking those who dare to make them. In the case of Golden Mischief, however, they have come together in the exact fashion Juddmonte Farms manager Garrett O'Rourke hashed out nearly a year ago.

When Juddmonte purchased the 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief  out of Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale in 2017 and sent her to trainer Brad Cox, the hope was to get the bay filly over the graded stakes hump and make her a worthy future mate for their champion Arrogate . In her sixth start for her new connections Oct. 6, Golden Mischief delivered on all of the above when she bested Chalon by a head to win the $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) at Keeneland.

"We bought her at the sale last year, and we felt like she was a filly that was good enough to win graded stakes races, but we never put any pressure on Brad," O'Rourke said. "I said, 'Ultimately, that's what we'd like to do, but when you do it and where you do it is entirely up to you.' And he picked his spots all year long with her and pounced and pulled it off—and to pull it off at Keeneland is even sweeter."

Golden Mischief put herself on Juddmonte's radar with a series of solid efforts—including four stakes wins—for previous trainer Steve Asmussen. She always hit a bit of ceiling against graded company, though, finishing fourth in the 2017 Eight Belles Stakes Presented by Kentucky Trailer (G2), Victory Ride Stakes (G3), and Prioress Stakes (G2). And her first outing for Cox was a ninth-place finish in the Spring Fever Stakes March 3 at Oaklawn Park.

Since then, she has made her $475,000 price tag look cheap with four wins in five starts, including a victory Saturday that earned her a berth in the Nov. 3 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at Churchill Downs.

"She's honest—she's been honest her whole career," Cox said. "You look down the page, she knows how to win. She always gives a big effort with the exception of that first race at Oaklawn where … going 5 1/2 furlongs wasn't her cup of tea … and the (grade 3) Winning Colors Stakes (fifth May 26), which was just a disaster from the gate to the first quarter-mile. Other than that, she's been so consistent."

Sent off at 9-2 odds in the 10-horse TCA field, Golden Mischief rated between horses in fifth under Florent Geroux as pacesetter Vertical Oak tossed up fractions of :22.74 and :45.68, with Happy Like a Fool tracking second.

As the field reached the top of the stretch, a five-horse scrum for the front broke out across the track to chase Vertical Oak, with Golden Mischief emerging to take a short advantage.

"I told Florent to try and let her sit off a few horses," Cox said. "I said, 'Don't forget: She's accomplished a lot, but she's not graded stakes-placed, so third is big.' And in the end, she was able to get there and get the victory."

Added Geroux, "She broke super sharp and was a bit closer than what I wanted. 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."

Chalon got up for second by a length over Vertical Oak, with favorite Miss Sunset and Happy Like a Fool rounding out the top five. Final time for the six furlongs was 1:09.39 over a track rated fast.

Bred in Kentucky by Fredericka V. Caldwell out of the Carson City mare Lanai City, Golden Mischief bolstered her record to 10 wins from 21 starts, with $668,150 in earnings.

"She'll be a fantastic mare for Arrogate, ultimately, which makes it all the more exciting," O'Rourke said.