Practical Joke gives his all in Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1)

Into Mischief’s multiple Grade 1-winning 2-year-old colt got a far from ideal trip in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), but still came away with a very good third-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile race at Santa Anita Park.

Winner of the Hopeful S. (G1) and Champagne S. (G1), Practical Joke’s adventures on Saturday started soon after the gate opened, when he was bumped by eventual second-place finisher Not This Time. Going wide around the first turn, the bay colt finally found clear running coming into the stretch, only to be impeded once again in mid-stretch. He regained momentum, but couldn’t catch the top pair to be a clear third.

The third-place check of $180,000 upped his lifetime earnings to $739,800 for owners Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence.