Pretty Mischievous, Dorth Vader set to meet for third time in Test

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After chasing Pretty Mischievous to the wire in both their previous meetings, trainer George Weaver is hoping the third time will be the charm for Dorth Vader when the two 3-year-old fillies hook up once again, this time going seven furlongs, in the Grade 1 Test Stakes Saturday at Saratoga. The prestigious Test, which offers a $500,000 purse, is anything but a two-horse race, bringing together an eight-horse field that also features the undefeated and relatively untested New York-bred Maple Leaf Mel and equally fleet-footed Munnys Gold.

Dorth Vader first encountered Pretty Mischievous at Churchill Downs going 1 1/8 miles in the Kentucky Oaks, finishing fifth beaten 3 1/4 lengths by that rival after prompting the early pace while forced to race wide throughout. She improved significantly when the pair squared off again, this time at 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 1 Acorn last month at Belmont Park. She gave Pretty Mischievous all she could handle before dropping a tough head decision. The two leaders battled it out down the stretch while easily separating themselves from the rest of the field that day.

Chapter Three in the personal battle between the two fillies finds them shortening up in distance once again. With Weaver, who assumed training duties for Dorth Vader shortly before the Acorn, feeling perhaps his horse might have the advantage at seven furlongs.

“Even before I got her, I felt she was probably a better one-turn filly than two, even though she ran respectably around two turns in the Oaks,” said Weaver. “I think that might have been a tad farther than her best distance. Obviously she ran very well going one turn in the Acorn, and I feel she might be even more effective shortening up to seven-eighths”

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Dorth Vader, who won the seven-furlong Juvenile Fillies Sprint at Gulfstream Park as a 2-year-old, has continued to train forwardly since shipping locally after the Belmont.

“I only had her for a brief period before the Acorn, but I know she’s the kind of filly you put her on the fence and she’ll work as impressively as a horse can work. She can go really fast and make it look easy,” said Weaver. “We’ve been trying to let her stretch out from the sixteenth pole through the wire in her works. I think it’s possible she can get even a little better than she was in her last race. Johnny [Velazquez] rode her very patiently last time and hopefully she’ll be able to sit in a stalking position again, have a shot to win it at the eighth pole, and make a good run for it from there.”

While it was not surprising to see Dorth Vader turn back to seven-eighths for the Test, the decision to do the same with Pretty Mischievous likely caught many off guard considering all the success she’s had this season racing exclusively at 1 1/16 miles or farther. Aside from her victories in the Oaks and Acorn, she also won the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandria and finished second in the Fair Grounds Oaks to launch her 3-year-old campaign. Pretty Mischievous did make one previous start at seven furlongs, winning an entry-level allowance dash at Churchill Downs in her second career start at 2.

“She’s got tons of natural speed, she handled the one turn mile and one sixteenth fine, and she sprinted very well the early part of her career,” trainer Brendan Walsh explained. “Plus it gave us a couple of extra weeks coming out of the Acorn, which I felt she needed. All in all, it’s a good time to try something new with her. If it doesn’t work, we can always go back to two turns.”

Maple Leaf Mel enters the Test sporting a perfect record in five starts, four of those victories in stakes, by margins ranging from 1 1/2 to 7 3/4 lengths. After dominating New York-breds in her first three outings, she stepped into open company to win the Grade 3 Miss Preakness and Grade 3 Victory Ride in her last two appearances.

Maple Leaf Mel, named for her trainer Melanie Giddings, has led at every call in each of her races although she figures to face a much stiffer challenge for the lead on Saturday with the equally fleet Munnys Gold breaking directly to her inside. Munnys Gold has also been on the lead at the half-mile call in each of her five previous starts, although was beaten a head following a grueling stretch duel when second in the Grade 2 Eight Belles going seven furlongs on Kentucky Derby Day and fourth, 4 1/2 lengths behind Pretty Mischievous, after giving way in early stretch of the Acorn.

Clearly Unhinged, Tappin Josie, Jersey Pearl, and Interpolate complete the lineup.

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