Mizdirection Works Over Santa Anita Turf

Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT) victress Mizdirection returned to the Santa Anita Park lawn with a four-furlong breeze Sept. 20, her second since a brief respite and first since going three furlongs on the Del Mar turf Aug. 11.

The 5-year-old daughter of Mizzen Mast went in :48 2/5 outside the "dogs" on the California turf course for trainer Mike Puype, second-fastest of ten moves at the distance on the firm turf.

"She looked awesome, she's obviously got time to get five more works in her, no different than my schedule last year," Puype said. "I'll have her ready for the big day."

Mizdirection, a five-time graded stakes winner who beat the boys in the Turf Sprint last year, came off a five-month break between races to do so. She then strung together three graded stakes scores with her second consecutive victory in the Monrovia (gr. IIT), a wire-to-wire romp in the Buena Vista Stakes (gr. IIT), and a solid score in the Las Cienegas Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Santa Anita.

The tenacious gray has not raced since a fifth over yielding turf in the Longines Just a Game Stakes (gr. IT) at Belmont Park on June 8.

"She ran her best race off a five-month layup last year in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint," Puype said. "I worked her one time at Del Mar but I wasn't real thrilled with the course; the turf workers had chewed it up bad. I didn't want to work her on the synthetic or the dirt, and anyway there really isn't a prep race for her; her prep would have had to be in the (Sept. 27) Eddie D. (gr. IIIT) against the boys ... we decided to slow her down a little bit, back off, and wait until the turf opened here."

Mizdirection, bred in Kentucky by Joseph J. Perrotta out of the Clever Trick mare Deceptive, races for a partnership that includes Bill Strauss and sports media personality Jim Rome's Jungle Racing. A $50,000 purchase by Solis Bloodstock from the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale, she has a 10-4-1 record from 16 starts, with earnings of $1,169,621.

"She has a ton of miles in her, she's ready to go, and that's where we're at," Puype said. "She had to be the best work of the morning. She never threw her head and went around there strong."