Duke of Mischief surprises in Iselin

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Duke of Mischief rallied for a 16-1 upset of 11-10 favorite Redding Colliery on Saturday in the Grade 3, $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park.

I Want Revenge was third again in the second start of his comeback.

Duke of Mischief pulled clear for a decisive 2 1/4-length win in a race that played out exactly the way jockey Eibar Coa anticipated.
Duke of Mischief got away fourth as Our Edge, as expected, broke alertly and set the pace. Redding Colliery was keen throughout, racing right off the leader with I Want Revenge also in the mix.

“My horse was sharp and he broke that way,” Coa said. “Speed showed up the way that it should. We just settled behind them.”
Midway on the final turn, Coa angled the Duke of Mischief off the rail and the 4-year-old took up the chase.

“I put him outside and let him roll,” Coa said. “If he ran his best race, it would be hard to beat him.”

Trained by David Fawkes, Duke of Mischief got his third graded win of the season following victories in the Grade 3 off-the-turf Ft Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream and the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap.

Both Redding Colliery and I Want Revenge encountered early difficulties.

Redding Colliery, dominant winner of the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap last time out, was very restless in the gate before the break.

“The pace was much slower than I thought it would be and I was very happy with where I was in the race,” said jockey Anna Napravnik. “My horse ran a very good race. He just got a little bit tired at the end. My horse got a little anxious in the gate, which he’s never done before.”

The activity in Redding Colliery’s stall seemed to unnerve I Want Revenge, who was along side. When the doors opened, I Want Revenge hopped in the air before picking up the chase.

“The fractions were very slow so that meant we were pretty close to the pace,” said Joe Bravo who replaced the injured Joe Talamo aboard I Want Revenge. “He ran very hard and he’s still a great horse in my mind. He got a little excited in the starting gate, mostly because the horse next to me acted up.”

I Want Revenge was the morning-line favorite for the 2009 Kentucky Derby. He scratched the morning of the race with a leg injury that required career-threatening surgery and a 15-month recuperation. He made it back to the races for the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park.

The time was 1:51.15 for the 1 /-8 miles on the fast track.
* Totie ($5) nailed the pacesetting Speak Easy Gal by a neck in the $100,000 Omnibus Stakes for fillies and mares on the turf.
A 4-year-old trained by Chad Brown, Totie earned her fourth win in six starts this season. Alan Garcia was aboard as Totie ran the 1 3/8 miles in 2:15.11.