Practical Joke rallies to big Dwyer S. (G3) win

Into Mischief’s Grade 1 colt Practical Joke added another graded stakes to his stellar resume with a resounding victory in Saturday’s $400,000 Dwyer S. at Belmont Park.

In hand early in fourth in the five-horse field, Joel Rosario had Practical Joke under a snug hold on the turn as he waited for an opening among the trio of 3-year-olds in front of him. When nothing had yet to develop at the top of the stretch, Rosario swung his mount four-wide to run past Battalion Runner just inside the furlong marker and pulling away to win convincingly by two lengths.

The time for the mile on the fast track was 1:35.16.

“I had a good trip,” Rosario said. “There weren’t a lot of horses in the race, so I stayed inside for a bit. … He was the best horse in the race. He looked good and finished really strongly. That’s what we were hoping for.”

Trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence, Practical Joke is now 4-2-1 in eight starts. His only off-the-board finish was a very respectable fifth in the Kentucky Derby (G1), his last start prior to Saturday.

Practical Joke has earned $1,295,800, with victories in the Hopeful S. (G1) and Champagne S. (G1) to his credit. He is one of four millionaires sired by Into Mischief, who is the world’s leading 3-year-old sire in several categories.