Re: Into Mischief for the Kentucky Derby. Looks a tad iffy on pedigree. Sire Harlan's Holiday, a horse I loved for his consistency and grit, wasn't an out-and-out stayer, more of a classy miler who could stretch out against lesser foes (Precisionist and Dr. Fager were this sort as well, at a higher level). Dam's first two foals won sprints. Dam herself was a state-bred SW at 2, all 5 of her wins were at sprint distances and 4 of the 5 were at 2. Did place in a few miler-type races on grass. Her siblings were sprinter/miler types, some of them pretty decent runners. Damsire Tricky Creek was a good miler-plus, could handle 9f in the right situation, but most of his best offspring were sprinter/milers.
It's only when you get to the third dam that you find any real 10f stamina in the family and then it is in spades - One Last Bird was by turf marathoner One for All out a daughter of Arc-winner Sea-Bird. Tricky Creek's dam had a similar profile, by His Majesty out of a Nijinsky mare, and from a Galbreath staying family. Sire of the second dam, Stop the Music, sired Belmont winner Temperence Hill. Heck, Harlan's Holiday's dam was by Triple Crown winner Affirmed out of a daughter of Princessnesian, who beat the boys in the 10f Hollywood Gold Cup.
Into Mischief is going to have to find a way to channel his great-grandparents' 10f talents to overcome the distance limitations of his more recent ancestors. Can be done (Balto Star), but the exception rather than the rule.
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