Into Mischief 2yo powers to Fair Grounds MdSpWt win

Into Mischief, North America’s leading sire of 2-year-olds in 2016, added his latest winner to the mix on Thanksgiving Day at Fair Grounds when Marco Mischief bested Zinger, a half-brother to Eclipse finalist I’m a Chatterbox, by a head at the wire in the one-mile maiden special weight race on the turf.

Owned by Jay and Joan Janssen, Marco Mischief was making his first grass start after a second place finish over a sloppy Gulfstream Park West main track Oct. 15 in his debut.

Last through the first five furlongs, Marco Mischief unleashed a big rally that carried his past the entire 12-horse field of juveniles by the time he hit the wire in 1:37.59.

“I thought he would be a lot closer today and all of a sudden he was dead-last early on,” trainer Leo Gabriel, Jr. said. “That’s why I put the blinkers on him. Last time we really thought a lot of him, he just got so far back last time, but really came running. The blinkers didn’t do any good today, but he won. We thought he was a nice horse and he proved it today.”

Marco Mischief was a $135,000 purchase at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale April 2016 Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training.