Mia Mischief returns in deep sprint

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Girls in gold.

It’s a clever hashtag Stonestreet Stables has used on Twitter when posting about fillies and mares who win races wearing its familiar gold and burgundy silks.

The stable rolls out a royal addition to its female ranks Friday in Mia Mischief, the Grade 1 winner who starts her season in the eighth race at Oaklawn Park.

Stonestreet went to $2.4 million to purchase Mia Mischief out of the Fasig-Tipton November sale in Lexington, Ky., at the end of 2019. She’s since been working at Fair Grounds for her return to racing, which comes under the tutelage of her longtime trainer, Steve Asmussen.

The Friday race is an optional $62,500 claimer for fillies and mares over six furlongs. The field is a deep one, with multiple Grade 2 winner Hotshot Anna invading from Fair Grounds and the promising Istan Council making her first start since October.

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The stakes winners Shanghai Tariff, Raintree Starlet, and Maybe Wicked add further depth to the nine-horse field, with some in the race expected to advance to the $200,000 Carousel on April 11 at Oaklawn.

Mia Mischief, a millionaire who reached a career pinnacle last May when she won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs, is proven over the local surface. She’s a two-time winner at Oaklawn, with one of those victories coming in her seasonal debut last year at 4. The win came off a layoff of similar length, at this six-furlong distance.

Ricardo Santana Jr., who was aboard for the race and the Humana Distaff, has the mount from post 2.

Mia Mischief, who comes off a win in the Dream Supreme on Nov. 1 at Churchill Downs, could show the way as a fresh horse, or track Shanghai Tariff and Raintree Starlet.

An honest pace would well serve Hotshot Anna, who has recency on Mia Mischief and was a fast-closing second in the $75,000 Mardi Gras on Feb. 25 at Fair Grounds. The race was on turf, and she’s moving back to dirt – where she is a multiple winner – on Friday.

Hotshot Anna is a two-time winner of the Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters, run on a synthetic surface. She’s also a stakes winner on turf and has familiarity with the track at Oaklawn.

Martin Garcia has the mount for owner Hugh Robertson and trainer Mac Robertson.

Istan Council shows a strong series of works at Oaklawn. Last year, she won an optional $50,000 claiming race at Ellis Park over Whoa Nellie, who became a stakes winner this meet at Oaklawn in the $100,000 Pippin. Larry Jones trains Istan Council and has given the mount to Tyler Baze.