Practical Joke (Into Mischief) came into the juvenile sales season with plenty of hype and the first-crop Coolmore stallion has not disappointed in the sales ring or on the racetrack where his second winner romped home to a 'TDN Rising Star' debut at Belmont Park Saturday.
Sent off the 2-5 favorite, Wit was away a half-step slowly and trailed the field in the early going. But the dark bay colt made a powerful, sustained rally on the far turn and came four wide into the stretch, where he idled for a moment before bounding clear in the final furlong to graduate by six lengths. Keepcalmcarryon (Union Rags) was second.
Wit, a $575,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, is a half-brother to Barkley (Munnings), GSW, $368,425. His unraced dam Numero d'Oro (Afleet), who sold for $175,000 while in foal to Frosted at the 2017 Keeneland November sale, was not bred in 2020, but was bred to City of Light last year. She is a daughter of multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed Numero Uno (Afleet) and is a half-sister to the dam of graded stakes winner and multiple Grade I placed Ivy Bell (Archarcharch).
Fillies by Practical Joke sold for $800,000 and $500,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale and for $750,000 at the OBS March sale. His first winner was Catchusifyoucan, a homebred for Tom Durant who graduated on debut at Lone Star Park May 22.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
1st-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 6-5, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:04.70, gd, 6 lengths.
WIT, c, 2, by Practical Joke
1st Dam: Numero d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro
2nd Dam: Numero Uno, by Afleet
3rd Dam: Une Pavane (Fr), by Caro (Ire)
Click for the Equibase.com chart or free equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,500. O-Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); B-Rosilyn Polan (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. *$575,000 yrl '19 KEESEP.
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