Mischevious Alex a Swale Stakes runner who 'should be undefeated'

Cash is King and LC Racing’s Mischevious Alex, an impressive stakes winner to cap his juvenile campaign, steps up to graded company for the first time as he launches his sophomore season in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Trained by Kentucky Derby winner John Servis, Mischevious Alex rolled to a front-running 9 ¾-length triumph in the Parx Juvenile Nov. 5, run at the Swale distance of seven furlongs.

“He’s doing good,” Servis said. “First race back, beginning of his 3-year-old year, so he’s got a long road of ahead of him. But everything’s good.”

Purchased as a 2-year-old in training last April for $140,000, Mischevious Alex debuted with a gate-to-wire head triumph June 25 at Parx, then was beaten a neck despite an adventurous trip in a 5 ½-furlong optional claimer July 27 at Laurel Park.

Making his stakes debut in the one-mile Sapling Sept. 1 at Monmouth Park under Maryland’s leading jockey, Trevor McCarthy, Mischevious Alex took a 1 ½-length lead into the stretch but got caught while waiting for competition and wound up third, beaten three-quarters.

His only time off the board, Mischevious Alex finished seventh in the Laurel Futurity, contested around two turns at 1 1/6 miles over Laurel’s world-class turf course.

“We’ve always liked the horse and thought he had a lot of talent. To be quite honest with you, if you throw out his turf race he probably should be undefeated,” Servis said. “The race in Maryland, he almost dropped himself when he ducked from something out over horses’ heels and dropped way back and then came running again and just got beat.

“In the Sapling, Trevor was upset with himself,” he added. “He felt, after it was all said and done, he probably moved too soon because he got in front and just pulled himself up and got caught late.”

Mischevious Alex, by Into Mischief, put it all together in the Parx Juvenile, setting sharp fractions of 22.68 and 45.22 seconds and 1:10.54 and pulling away willingly while wearing blinkers for the first time. The runner-up, Vanzzy, went on to capture the 1 1/16-mile Display Stakes Dec. 14 at Woodbine, while fourth-place finisher Ny Traffic went all the way on the lead for a 6 ¾-length triumph in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Jan. 11 at Gulfstream.

“We finally put the blinkers on him and he responded the way we wanted,” Servis said. “He beat a couple of horses that have come out of there and run well.”

Mischevious Alex will break from Post 1 in the field of eight under Championship Meet-leading rider Irad Ortiz Jr. They are third choice on the morning line at 7-2, behind Grade 2 winner Green Light Go (2-1) and Untitled (3-1), an 11-length debut winner Dec. 14 at Gulfstream.