Honest Mischief vies for Malibu Stakes trip in City of Laurel

Juddmonte Farm’s graded stakes-placed homebred Honest Mischief, an impressive allowance winner off the bench last out, returns to stakes company in the $100,000 Force the Pass City of Laurel Stakes Saturday at Laurel Park.

The City of Laurel for 3-year-olds and $100,000 Imagining Safely Kept Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, both at seven furlongs, are among four stakes worth $400,000 in purses on the nine-race program. First-race post time is 12:25 p.m.

For the first time this year, winners of the City of Laurel and Safely Kept will earn automatic entry into the $300,000 Malibu (G1) and $300,000 La Brea (G1), respectively, on Wednesday, Dec. 26, opening day of Santa Anita’s winter-spring meet.

Both the Malibu and La Brea are contested at seven furlongs. If the winner of Laurel’s races make the trip to California, they will be given a $2,500 stipend toward travel costs.

Honest Mischief, a son of Into Mischief, has been worse than third just once in five starts this year with two wins.

Both Honest Mischief’s wins have come sprinting at Keeneland, an eight-length maiden special weight romp April 6 going seven furlongs, and a four-length triumph Oct. 9 in a 6 ½-furlong allowance against older horses at Keeneland. In between, he ran sixth as the favorite in the Woody Stephens (G1) and a distant third to eventual Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) runner-up Shancelot in the Amsterdam (G2).

Among his rivals Saturday is Barry Schwartz’s Amundson, an impressive winner of his last two races in New York, who will step up to stakes company for the first time.

A gelded bay son of two-time Horse of the Year and 2014 Hall of Famer Curlin and grandson of champion Bernardini, Amundson exits a front-running 8 ¾-length romp over fellow New York-breds in a 6 ½-furlong second-level allowance Oct. 18 at Belmont Park. The effort came four weeks after a half-length score going the same distance in an entry-level spot, also at Belmont.

“He’s doing really good. He came out of the race in New York in good order,” trainer Horacio DePaz said. “Obviously it was a pretty strong effort, so we’re just trying to let him recover from that and see if he’s going to be able to peak again for us on Saturday.”

DePaz said what impressed him the most about Amundson’s most recent race was how much he controlled the race and how well he responded to Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, aboard for the first time.

“When Javier rode him, he said he was a dream. Before, he tried to lug in on horses a little bit. He was kind of immature, but he was all there for him and he was all excited about the way he ran that race,” DePaz said.

“I hope that I get him to where he’s coming back to another peak performance. He ran a really good number the day he won at Belmont even though he was alone on the lead, and obviously you worry about the bounce theory and if he’s going to do that,” he added. “The space in between that race to this race, especially after running as hard as he did, it was good timing.”

Unraced at 2, Amundson broke his maiden at Delaware Park June 13, then ran fourth and third in back-to-back starts at Saratoga prior to his Belmont wins. The City of Laurel will be the first try against his own age group since he debuted Jan. 26 at Aqueduct.

“Even the races he ran at Saratoga, those were solid horses he was running against and he wasn’t far off, competition-wise, the way he was finishing. It was just experience, and he’s really put it together here lately maturity wise,” DePaz said. “It’s a chance to go up against straight 3-year-olds. It sounds like the race is going to be pretty competitive field, so it’ll be a good test for him as far as where he fits with these other 3-year-olds.”

Trainer Hamilton Smith, six wins away from 2,000 for his career, entered Hall Pass and Hanalei’s Houdini who, like Amundson, have been facing older horses for much of the year. Mens Grille Racing’s Hall Pass has been first or third in six of 11 starts in 2019, beaten a length when third in the Star de Naskra Stakes Aug. 17. Most recently, he finished fourth behind Taco Supream, multiple graded-stakes winner Call Paul and defending champion Lewisfield in the Maryland Million Sprint Oct. 19.

“He didn’t get away as quick as we’d like last time but he recovered quick enough. It was a tough and fast race, there wasn’t any doubt about that,” Smith said. “The horses that beat him are all accomplished horses so there’s no disgrace in that. He’s doing good and training well enough so there’s no reason not to try it.”

“He’s been facing these older horses and they’ve been running in [1:08] and change, [1:09] and change, but Hall Pass has held his own,” he added. “He’s hit the board and run pretty good, so it will be good to run against straight 3-year-olds and see if that doesn’t give him a little boost.”

Collinsworth Thoroughbred Racing’s Hanalei’s Houdini ran third, beaten 2 ½ lengths by Jefazo, after taking a short lead into the stretch in a one-mile optional claiming allowance Nov. 9 at Laurel. Jefazo is among the contenders in Saturday’s $100,000 Richard W. Small Stakes for 3-year-olds and up.

“He made the lead turning for home like he was going to get there, but that was against older horses and they came and got him. He tries hard,” Smith said. “He’s been running a little further, but I think seven-eighths should hit him pretty good.

“I think the distance will suit both these colts of mine. It’s going to be tough, so all we can do is take our shot and hope for the best. Maybe being here at home helps us a little bit,” he added. “They’re running their races and just getting beat by good horses. That’s not the worst thing in the world.”

Chilly in Charge and Rohrbacher complete the field.