San Felipe a possibility for Mischief Clem

Mischief Clem won his first stakes in the California Cup Derby, a race won in 2014 by California Chrome.

California Chrome won the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in his next start, and the same $400,000 race on March 7 has been the subject of preliminary discussions between owner Craig Griffin and trainer Bob Hess Jr. for Mischief Clem.

“That would be tough,” Hess said. “The timing is good.”

Mischief Clem has won 3 of 6 starts and earned $366,380 for Griffin and his wife, Lorie.

Mischief Clem won his first two starts last September and October, but was beaten in three subsequent races. Hess blamed himself for Mischief Clem’s fourth-place finish behind Acceptance in the King Glorious Stakes for California-breds at Los Alamitos on Dec. 14.

“I completely screwed it up at Los Alamitos,” he said. “The race was over before it started. I didn’t school him over there.”

Mischief Clem has yet to run in a graded stakes, but that has not stopped Craig Griffin from planning ahead. Earlier this month, Mischief Clem was nominated for the Triple Crown.

“We didn’t hesitate,” Griffin said.

No visible excuse for Acceptance

Acceptance was beaten for the first time in his career in the California Cup Derby, fading to finish fourth after leading on the turn. Sent off at 1-2, Acceptance was beaten 12 lengths by Mischief Clem.

Sunday, owner and breeder Bud Johnston said that Acceptance emerged from the race without mishap, but that he was left puzzled by the performance.

“We haven’t found anything wrong with him,” Johnston said. “It’s hard to explain. He didn’t run his race.

“I was happy that he ate up everything last night. That’s a good sign. The track was deep. Maybe he couldn’t get a hold of the track. We’ll do all kinds of experiments.”

Acceptance is trained by Don Warren. The colt won his first three starts, including the Golden State Juvenile on Nov. 1 and the King Glorious Stakes.