With a powerful move around the far turn, 16-1 Duke of Mischief swept to the lead and rolled to a 2 1/4-length win in the $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes (gr. III) (VIDEO) at Monmouth Park Aug. 21.
After sitting off slow fractions of :24.95 and :49.52, Duke of Mischief began to inch closer going into the far turn before he was asked for his best by jockey Eibar Coa. He exploded to the lead just inside the quarter- pole.
“One thing about this horse, when he shows up and runs his A-1 race, I don’t think there’s anyone that can beat him,” Coa said. “I moved him to the outside and let him go. That was the plan from the beginning, and I wasn’t going to change that.”
Winning trainer and co-owner David Fawkes echoed Coa’s sentiments.
“This horse likes to get an outside trip,” he said. “Going down the backside, I got a little nervous because he was still on the inside, but (Coa) said he was just biding his time.”
Coming off a runner-up finish in the Salvator Mile (gr. III) July 3, Duke of Mischief racked up his sixth career win by taking the 1 1/8-mile Iselin in 1:51.15. The 4-year-old, by Graeme Hall from the Real Courage mare My Lady Amelia, has now banked $910,642 for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong, Fawkes Racing, and Marilyn McMaster.
The upset winner returned $34.60, $8.20, and $3.40. Redding Colliery, the odds-on choice in the field of six, returned $3.20 and $2.20 while filling out a $118 exacta. I Want Revenge , making just his second start since scratching as the morning-line favorite in last year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), checked in four lengths further back in third, good for $2.20 to show.
