Diane Manning's Miss Mischief parlayed her success coming off a score in the H.B.P.A. Stakes last time out to make the grade in the $200,000 Bessarabian Stakes (Can-II) Nov. 15 at Woodbine.
Video: Bessarabian S. (G2)
The 5-year-old Into Mischief mare and jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva found themselves in a stalking position in the turn of the seven-furlong event, made their way to the outside, and surged past a pair of front-runners to win by 2 1/4 lengths, ahead of longshot Paddle Board.
It was the first graded score for Miss Mischief, who is trained by Dale Capuano, after a third in the Presque Isle Downs Masters (gr. II) and a second in the Hendrie (Can-III) earlier this year.
"We've been close and haven't been able to win (a graded stakes), so this is very gratifying," Capuano said. "We thought that the distance fit her quite well. She run good races for us at 6 1/2 (furlongs) and a mile and a sixteenth, so she's versatile."
Skylander Girl was first to the lead, but faded quickly in the backstretch, before Paddle Board took over to run the first quarter in :23.20, while Miss Mischief tracked in fourth. Endless Light became the third leader through a half in :45.64, before Paddle Board put her head in front again through six furlongs in 1:09.28. The speed battle was all for naught, however, as Miss Mischief surged on the outside to hit the wire in 1:21.72 over the Woodbine synthetic main track.
"She was keen and she was following in the race pretty good, just waiting for me to turn her loose,." da Silva said.
The winner paid $12.90, $6.50, and $4.10 across the board. Paddle Board brought $14.50 and $6.40, while third-place finisher Elusive Collection delivered $3.20 to show.
Last-out Ontario Fashion Stakes (Can-III) winner Cactus Kris closed from last in the seven-horse field to finish fourth, followed by Skylander Girl, Endless Light, and 5-2 favorite Marbre Rose, to complete the order of finish.
Bred in Kentucky by Allen Poindexter, out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Kid Majic, Miss Mischief has a 9-2-2 record from 23 starts and earnings of $522,980.
