Miss Mischief looks to defend title in HBPA Stakes
A pair of $100,000 stakes – one for fillies and mares going a mile and 70 yards and the other for 2-year-olds sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs – highlights the closing-night program Tuesday at Presque Isle Downs.
The HBPA, which goes as race 6 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, drew a full field of 12 fillies and mares, plus two also-eligibles. The Fitz Dixon Jr. Memorial Juvenile (race 4, 6:40) attracted a dozen 2-year-olds, including two sets of coupled entries.
Miss Mischief, third in the most prestigious race of the meet, the Grade 2 Presque Isle Masters, seeks her first route victory since she captured last year’s HBPA as the 8-5 favorite. Her last five Beyer Speed Figures since early May – all on synthetic surfaces at Presque Isle or Woodbine – have been in the narrow range from 85 to 88.
The field also includes the sprinter Cactus Kris, making her first start since she was a neck behind Miss Mischief in the Masters, and Imposing Grace, a Grade 3 winner the last time she raced on a synthetic surface in 2013 at Arlington Park.
In the Fitz Dixon Memorial, Balk, moving to open company after a daylight score in the Mark McDermott for Pennsylvania-breds, faces challenges from the filly Bella Flor and Chicago-based Cashel Rock, who tries Tapeta for the first time after going 2 for 2 on turf.
The race lost a contender when Van Damme, second in the Arlington-Washington Futurity in August, ran fourth in Sunday’s Grade 3 Grey at Woodbine.
KEY CONTENDERS
HBPA Stakes (RACE 6)
Miss Mischief (Last 3 Beyers: 85-87-86)
◗ In six starts locally, this 5-year-old mare has four wins, a second, and a third. She retains Antonio Gallardo, the dominant rider throughout the meet. They teamed to defeat 10 rivals in this same stakes last year.
Imposing Grace (Last 3 Beyers: 65-74-75)
◗ This 6-year-old mare would be dangerous if she can turn back the clock to 2013, when she won the Grade 3 Arlington Matron with an 85 Beyer. Back then, however, she was in the barn of high-percentage trainer Wayne Catalano. She’s now with Marialice Coffey, whose first win of the season came Saturday.
Cactus Kris (Last 3 Beyers: 87-87-81)
◗ Her Beyers compare favorably with Miss Mischief, but all five of her career victories have come in sprints. In her only two tries going two turns, she was second in a slow maiden race as a 2-year-old and a distant fourth on turf in the Grade 3 Ontario Colleen.
Save the Park (Last 3 Beyers: 76-79-85)
◗ She ran fast enough to be labeled a contender in this spot late in her 3-year-old campaign in 2014, winning a second-level optional $62,500 claimer on Polytrack and beaten just 1 1/2 lengths in the Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream. But she has raced just once since January, finishing last in a turf route at Woodbine in late August. It is hard to gauge what to expect from her, but trainer Reade Baker must believe in the filly to ship in from Woodbine.
FITZ DIXON JR. MEMORIAL JUVENILE STAKES (RACE 4)
Balk (Last 3 Beyers: 66-50-47)
◗ He has had a month to recover from a career top winning a six-furlong stakes for Pennsylvania-breds. His sire, Street Boss, has produced offspring that have gone 15 for 67 (22 percent) in synthetic-track sprints as 2-year-olds.
Bella Flor (Last 3 Beyers: 70-61-35)
◗ This filly was beaten just 1 3/4 lengths by Balk two starts ago, then missed by a nose facing statebred fillies Sept. 20. She owns the best last-race Beyer in the field.
She’ll Do It (Beyers: 51-85)
◗ This Woodbine-based filly won her career debut with a big 85 Beyer on Polytrack but did not transfer her form to turf or a route in the Grade 2 Natalma. Look for her to improve back in a sprint on synthetic, based on her sire’s prowess with 2-year-olds sprinting on all-weather surfaces (9 for 46, 20 percent).
Cashel Rock (Beyers: 66-64)
◗ He looked good winning his career debut and a first-level optional claimer at two different tracks, but he must prove he’s equally adept on Tapeta. Trainer Doug Matthews is 3 for 13 (23 percent) with a $3.01 return on investment with horses making their first start on an all-weather surface while back in less than 39 days.
