Mischief Lady seizes upon surface switch to win Cupecoy's Joy
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Ed Barker would have run Mischief Lady on the turf in Saturday’s $150,000 Cupecoy’s Joy division of the New York Stallion Series, but his true hope was that it would rain enough for the six-furlong stakes to be transferred to the dirt.
It did.
Thus, on her preferred surface and as the lone speed in the five-horse field, Mischief Lady cruised to a 2 1/4-length, front-running victory under Ricardo Santana in the Cupecoy’s Joy at Aqueduct. Boston’s Phinest, who chased Mischief Lady from second, held that spot at the finish, a nose over Storm Changer. Disco Star, who would have been favored on turf, finished fourth, followed by Royal Event.
When the race was moved to the dirt, Barker said, "There was nothing at all that entered my mind that she could lose this race today. The only way was if she didn’t break or something.”
Mischief Lady was making her first start since she won a New York-bred allowance in January. Barker said he didn’t want to train Mischief Lady over Belmont Park’s training track all winter, believing that if he gave her a rest, she could have a solid second-half-of-the-year campaign.
Saturday, Mischief Lady broke on top and maintained a measured advantage over Boston’s Phinest through a quarter in 22.47 seconds and a half-mile in 45.51. Santana said he didn’t move on his filly until the quarter pole, and that’s when she kicked clear from the competition and won in a rather handy manner.
“I think the track today was going to help her more even coming from a layoff. She broke really sharp and she was really comfortable on the lead,” said Santana, who won his first stakes since moving his tack to New York at the beginning of May. “I was really happy with her. I didn’t move until I turned for home, and when I asked her, she gave me a second kick and she was much the best today.”
Mischief Lady, a daughter of Honest Mischief owned by Paddock Proud LLC, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.65 and returned $4.50 as the favorite.
“She grew at least three inches from last year and put on at least 100 pounds in all the right places,” Barker said. “Hopefully, we can have some nice fun with her this year.”
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