Aqueduct: Mischief Maker rounding back to form for Judy Soda

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – At this time last year, the New York-bred Mischief Maker was running races that would lead one to believe she could have been competitive in Aqueduct’s series of open-company stakes for fillies and mares over the inner track.

Following a pair of blowout victories against statebreds, Mischief Maker was given a break by trainer Bruce Brown, who had high hopes for the daughter of Cape Town last summer. Unfortunately, Mischief Maker didn’t pick up where she left off, losing five races from June through September.

Now that racing has returned to the inner track, Mischief Maker has returned to form, winning an open-company second-level allowance race Dec. 11. Sunday, she returns to New York-bred stakes competition when she heads a field of nine entered in the $75,000 Judy Soda Stakes at one mile. Last year, this race was known as the Swirlaway, a race Mischief Maker dominated by 7 1/4 lengths.

Brown said he regrets giving Mischief Maker a break following the Swirlaway.

“In hindsight, it wasn’t the right move; we should have just kept going,” Brown said. “You listen to the old timers, ‘When a horse is doing good you should never stop on them unless they give you a reason to.’ But I just thought it was the right thing to do at the time. She just didn’t come back as good. Hopefully, she’s getting back to where she was on the inner track last year.”

Brown was encouraged by Mischief Maker’s nose victory Dec. 11, noting that she wasn’t “totally tight” for the 1 1/16-mile race.

“I had been kind of babying her along, just trying to get to the inner track, and she ran better than I expected,” Brown said. “So this race should be her ‘A’ race. It looks like the race should set up good for her with a lot of horses stretching out.”

Hot Rendezvous and Carameaway are two of those horses stretching out. Both were entered in Friday’s $75,000 Lapis Stakes, a six-furlong race that was scrapped when a snowstorm canceled that day’s card.

Hot Rendezvous, trained by Gary Contessa, has won her last two dirt sprints after racing mostly on turf to begin her career. Carameaway successfully stretched out last winter to win a one-mile first-level allowance race over the inner track. She was allowed to get loose on the lead that day, a scenario that doesn’t figure to play out Sunday with the likes of Harbor Mist and Miss Da Point in the field.

Dreaming of Cara, coupled with Carameaway as part of a Mitch Friedman-trained entry, is 2-2-0 in her four starts over the inner track, though those wins came two years ago.

Tahoe Tigress is 4 for 5 at a mile, albeit mostly around one turn, but shows a bullet work Dec. 29 and is reunited with Jose Ortiz, aboard for the mare’s last four wins.