Mischevious Alex could try Gotham off Swale romp

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Tiz the Law wasn’t the only 3-year-old to turn heads with a graded stakes victory on Saturday at Gulfstream. An hour earlier, Mischevious Alex drew off to a seven-length triumph in the seven-furlong Swale Stakes, winning with something left after being geared down during the closing stages by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. His final time of 1:22.83 was nearly two seconds faster than the undefeated filly Tonalist’s Shape covered the same distance capturing the Grade 3 Forward Gal earlier on the card, earning him a lifetime-best 93 Beyer Figure for his performance.

The Grade 3 Swale was the second victory in as many starts since trainer John Servis first equipped the speedy son of Into Mischief with blinkers prior to an easy win in the Parx Juvenile on Nov. 5.

“He’s always been a push-button horse but very green, and when we decided to put the blinkers on him, that’s when he got his mind on business,” said Servis. “We always knew the talent’s there. Throw out his turf race and he should be undefeated. In his second start at Laurel he got in a little tight, almost dropped himself trying to get out of there then came running late and just got beat. In the Sapling, Trevor [McCarthy] came back to told me the horse should have galloped. That when he pulled the trigger he just looped everybody and when he made the lead he just pulled himself up.”

Off a race like the Swale, the temptation is there to bring Mischevious Alex back in a potential Kentucky Derby prep, such as the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth here on Feb. 29, but Servis said he didn’t believe that race was in his plans.

“He’s going to have to show me he wants two turns, and I don’t think he does,” said Servis who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby with Smarty Jones. “Personally, I think a one-turn mile is really going to hit him right in the head. I don’t want to put him on the [Derby] trail and next thing at the end of the year you wind up with no horse.”

Servis said the Grade 3, one-mile Gotham on March 7 at Aqueduct is under consideration for Mischevious Alex’s next start.