DUKE OF MISCHIEF (Graeme Hall) had been well beaten in three starts since his
impressive score in the June 26 Iowa Derby, but the David Fawkes trainee
rediscovered his best form of old when Sunday’s $100,000
Ft.
Lauderdale S. was rained off the Gulfstream Park turf. Rallying boldly in
the lane, the four-year-old chestnut reeled in defending champion Kiss the Kid
(Lemon Drop Kid) and Mambo Meister (King Cugat) to finish one mile in 1:37 3/5
on the good main track.
The Ft. Lauderdale, originally carded as a Grade 3 event at 1 1/16 grassy
miles, was automatically downgraded because of the change in race conditions,
pending review by the American Graded Stakes Committee. Of the original 15
entrants, a total of seven were scratched. Bittel Road (Stormy Atlantic), Danak
(Ire) (Pivotal), Jet Propulsion (Double Honor), Society’s Chairman (Not
Impossible [Ire]), Star Plus (Arg) (Alpha Plus) and Valtrus (Lemon Drop Kid)
were withdrawn after the race came off the turf, while Yate’s Black Cat (Black
Minnaloushe) was listed as a trainer scratch.
With expected pacesetter Jet Propulsion out, Wheels Up at Noon (Outflanker)
decided to take over the front runner’s role in the early going. After a first
quarter in :25, he yielded to 2-1 favorite Mambo Meister, who held a head
advantage through splits of :48 4/5 and 1:13 1/5.
By the six-furlong mark, Kiss the Kid had ranged up to accost Mambo Meister,
and the two began their protracted stretch duel to the wire. At the same time,
Duke of Mischief, who had been racing in sixth for the first half-mile, had
worked his way forward into a close fourth on the outside.
Kiss the Kid put his head in front of Mambo Meister at the eighth-pole, but
Duke of Mischief was making eye-catching progress for Eibar Coa. The nearly 6-1
shot produced a sustained charge to get up by a neck, returning $13.80, $6.80
and $4.20 as the fifth choice in the eight-horse field.
The versatile Kiss the Kid just failed in his bid to win back-to-back
runnings of the Ft. Lauderdale on two different surfaces, but succeeded in
beating Mambo Meister for second by three-quarters of a length. The runner-up
paid $5.40 and $3.60 as the co-third choice at 4-1, and Mambo Meister furnished
$2.60 to show. The exotics were worth $70.40 (exacta), $271.60 (trifecta) and
$1,128.60 (13-7-11-4 superfecta) with the nearly 4-1 Dry Martini (Slew Gin Fizz)
in fourth. Vacation (Dynaformer) checked in fifth, followed by Wingedlie (Winged
Foot Willie), Wheels Up at Noon and a tailed-off Sam P. (Cat Thief).
Campaigned by breeder Marilyn McMaster, along with Alex and Joann Lieblong
and trainer Fawkes, Duke of Mischief has now pocketed $373,925 from his 10-4-1-0
mark. The Florida-bred spent the first half of 2009 on the turf, breaking his
maiden for an $80,000 tag at Gulfstream in February and finishing a rallying
second in the Florida Cup Sophomore Turf S. at Tampa next time out.
Ironically, this is the second time in his brief career that Duke of Mischief
has taken advantage of a surface switch. Last May at Calder, he pulverized an
off-the-turf allowance field by 11 3/4 lengths in the slop, an effort that
earned him a ticket to the Iowa Derby. Duke of Mischief rolled to a five-length
score in that Prairie Meadows contest and appeared set for a productive second
half of the season, only to disappoint thereafter. Fifth in the Haskell
Invitational (G1), he was a distant fourth in the Pennsylvania Derby and a
retreating seventh in the October 11 Oklahoma Derby last time out.
Duke of Mischief is out of the winning My Lady Amelia (Real Courage), making
him a half-brother to Grade 3 veteran-turned-turf-sprinter Lord Robyn (Robyn
Dancer). My Lady Amelia is also responsible for an unraced sophomore colt named
El Paso (El Corredor) and a juvenile colt named Noble Son (Eddington). This is
the family of influential sire Silver Deputy (Deputy Minister) and two-time
Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1) star Kane Hekili (Fuji Kiseki).