Into Mischief hits major milestone with 100th Graded Stakes winner

Deep Flame’s scintillating victory in Sunday’s Maxfield S. (G3) at Churchill Downs etched the 3-year-old’s name in history as the 100^th lifetime graded stakes winner for seven-time champion sire Into Mischief.

The Spendthrift stallion joins Tapit, Frankel (GB) and Dubawi (IRE) as the only active North American hemisphere sires with at least 100 graded winners.

Into Mischief is also one of only five sires to have three Kentucky Derby (G1) winners and is tied with Dubawi with nine Breeders’ Cup winners.

Deep Flame, a Juddmonte homebred who was making his stakes debut in the seven-furlong Maxfield, pressed early leader Prize Pick through a half-mile of :44.47 before taking command with five-sixteenths to run. Brant loomed up on Deep Flame’s outside, but the eventual winner shook him off in midstretch and powered home a 5 ¾-length winner in 1:21. 43 on a fast track.

“He came into this race with a good foundation being his fourth career start,” said trainer Brad Cox. “We felt like the timing was right to stretch him out to seven furlongs. There’s a long year ahead with a lot of big opportunities left. After the way he breezed last time, we were confident he was going to run a big race today.”

Deep Flame is 2-2-0 in four starts and has earned $255,156. The colt’s regal female family traces back to his fourth dam, the immortal Chris Evert, the 1974 Champion Three Year-Old Filly and Filly Triple Crown Winner.