Honest Mischief Juveniles Win NY Stallion Series Stakes

It was a big day for owners like Sheila Rosenblum and NY Final Furlong Racing Stable. But it was a huge day for first-year stallion Honest Mischief. The 8-year-old stallion standing at Sequel Stallions in Hudson, N.Y., enjoyed a lucrative double Dec. 14 as his progeny captured both ends of the New York Stallion Series stakes for state-bred juveniles at Aqueduct Racetrack which were worth a combined $1 million. It was Lady Sheila Stable, Net Birdie, and Schwing Thoroughbreds' Sacrosanct taking the $500,000 Great White Way Division and NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and SunsetRidge Racing Stable's Stone Smuggler prevailing in the $500,000 Fifth Avenue Division for 2-year-old fillies. "We ended up buying four Honest Mischiefs at the yearling sales and they were all really balanced. Maybe a little short-legged but they had tremendous hips, tremendous girths, great top lines, great walking motions," said Dan Zanatta, co-managing partner of NY Final Furlong Racing Stable along with Vince Roth. "We love to go after New York-sired horses because typically we can buy the best ones." Bred by Eaton & Thorne in New York, Stone Smuggler was bought for $57,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-Bred Yearling Sale, and Zanatta and Co. immediately targeted Saturday's stakes for the offspring of stallions based in New York. Those plans came to fruition when the daughter of Honest Mischief posted a 1 3/4-length victory over the Central Banker filly Material Girl. "We bought this filly at the yearling sale with this race in mind," Zanatta said. "So, 18 months later, to be in the race, never mind win it, is a success. Very rarely do you buy a horse a year and a half before a race target and you make it." Trained by Jorge Abreu, Stone Smuggler, out of the Bustin Stones mare Bustinattheseams, covered the seven furlongs in 1:24.90 under Jose Lezcano and paid $7.80 to win. It was her second win in four starts and the $275,000 share of the purse lifted her earnings to $364,347. "She really ran well. I was a little concerned about the seven-eighths with her. I didn't know if she could go that far, but she did it," Abreu said. "I was a little bit concerned (about post 11) but the race had a lot of speed inside of her, so that worked out well. I said to Jose, 'Whoever takes the lead, just park right outside of them.' Stretching out I didn't want to see her fighting for the lead. Jose rode a great race." Team Hanley and Thirty Year Farm's Material Girl, bred by Spruce Lane Farm, Edition Farm, Mashnee Stables, and Copper Beach Stables, et al, and trained by Chad Brown was second by a neck over Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, Pantofel Stable, and Stefania Farms' Princess Mischief, an Honest Mischief filly trained by Chris Englehart and bred by Sequel Stallions New York. Sacrosanct, trained by Brad Cox, came into the Great White Way Division an undefeated winner of multiple New York-bred stakes and exited it with a 3-year-old open stakes date a distinct possibility. The Honest Mischief colt bred by Burleson Farms, McKenzie Bloodstock, and Sequel Thoroughbreds, held off Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's National Identity by a head. "I think the (New York State breeding program) needs this and it's spectacular. I was always so pro-New York. I think the New York Stallion Series is a great program and we are lucky to be a part of it," Rosenblum said. "I hope he keeps it up as a 3-year-old. Anything is possible. We can dream. That's a New York thing too. We can dream." Bought for $260,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, Sacrosanct is now a perfect 4-for-4 and has earned $503,250. He was timed in 1:24.10 for the seven furlongs under Manny Franco and paid $3.10 as the odds-on 1-2 favorite. "They were setting an honest pace and when the runner-up came up to him, he really dug in. I was really happy with the horse," said Cox's New York-based assistant trainer Dustin Dugas. National Identity, a Solomini colt bred by Hunter Valley Farm and trained by Danny Gargan, was 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Paradise Farms, David Staudacher, Angelo Carlesimo, and JP Racing Stable's Smilensaycheese. A son of Solomini bred by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds and Greenleaf Farm, the third-place finisher is trained by Mike Maker.