Denim and Pearls caps fantastic weekend for Into Mischief with Beaumont S. (G2) romp

Five-time champion sire Into Mischief tallied his third new graded stakes winner of the weekend Sunday at Keeneland when Denim and Pearls rolled to an 8 ½-length victory in the $400,000 Beaumont S. (G2).

All three of Into Mischief’s newest graded winners are 3-year-olds: in addition to Denim and Pearls, Leslie’s Rose won the Ashland S. (G1) and Resilience took the Wood Memorial (G2). The latter two are headed to Louisville for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and Derby (G1), respectively.

Denim and Pearls, who had never won a stake of any type before Sunday, placed second in a pair of listed events at Oaklawn Park over the winter. In Sunday’s “about” seven furlongs race, the bay filly sat third for a half-mile before making a three-wide move for the lead. After a brief tussle, she spurted away from the field and sprinted clear in the lane to win easily in 1:26.54 on a fast track.

“It was a very good performance today. She was traveling well all the way around,” said jockey Flavien Prat. “I didn’t want to move too soon but she just did it on her own, so I thought to let her run from there. She did the rest. It was a great move by [trainer] Brad [Cox] to cut back in distance as well.”

Denim and Pearls upped her record to 3-2-0 in five starts and earnings to $457,435 for Red, White and Blue Racing LLC. The bay filly, who sold for $500,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, was bred in Kentucky by Town and Country Farms and is a full sister to this year’s Santa Anita H. (G1) winner Newgate.