Goldencents looks like a million in BC Dirt Mile (G1)

Into Mischief’s young stallion career ascended to new heights on Friday when Goldencents blitzed his foes with a front-running, 2 3/4-length victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Santa Anita Park.

The Breeders’ Cup win was the first for any U.S. Second Crop Sire, and vaults Into Mischief into the top five on the Second-Crop Sire list, with $3.1 million in progeny earnings. His six stakes winners have accounted for 13 black-type scores this year, the most among all sophomore sires.

Goldencents was thought to be compromised by his outside post in the field of 11, but Rafael Bejarano craftily hustled the 3-year-old out of the gate to battle for the top spot with Broadway Empire around the first turn. After a half-mile in an incredibly quick :44.75 seconds, Goldencents put away his challenger, spurting to a two-length lead coming into the stretch.

Despite the blazing early pace, Goldencents continued to pour it on in the stretch, opening up by about five lengths before Bejarano relaxed late when he knew the race was in hand. The winner completed the course in 1:35.12 over a fast track.

“Yeah, that’s why it was one of my options to send him right away from the gate,” Bejarano said. “Everything was great. I had a good trip and I had a little pressure in the first turn but it wasn’t that bad.”

Owned by the partnership of W.C. Racing (Glenn Sorgenstein), Dave Kenney, and RAP Racing (University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino), Goldencents has now earned $1,990,000 after the $550,000 payday. He is Into Mischief’s lifetime leading money earner.

Afterward, Sorgenstein was looking forward to Goldencents’ 2014 campaign.

“We really think he’s going to come into his own as a 4-year-old,” Sorgenstein said. “He has raced hard, he has worked hard. He has worked out well, and he always comes back to the track with the same demeanor.”

Trained by Doug O’Neill, Goldencents has four graded stakes wins to his credit, including this year’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. O’Neill’s brother Dennis procured Goldencents for $62,000 out of the 2012 OBS Horses of Racing Age sale in June.