Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Cyclone Mischief

May 05, 2023 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

Owned by Albaugh Family Stables and Castleton Lyons, Cyclone Mischief picked up 45 points on the 2023 Road to the Kentucky Derby. He was among the final three horses to qualify to the Kentucky Derby (G1) field.

Trained by Dale Romans, the son of Into Mischief was a close third when debuting in a Sept. 16 maiden special weight racing one mile at Churchill Downs. The bay graduated in style in his second lifetime run, drawing off by 5 1/4 lengths at Keeneland while traveling 1 1/16 miles on a fast main surface. He capped his juvenile campaign with a seventh-place result in Churchill’s Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) after leading into the stretch.

Cyclone Mischief kicked off his three-year-old year with a fine allowance victory at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 8, prior to finishing unplaced in the subsequent Holy Bull (G3). The bay heads into the Kentucky Derby off a pair of third-place performances in the Fountain of Youth (G2) and Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream. His lifetime line now reads 7-2-0-3, with earnings of $246,350.

The colt was bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate and attracted a final bid of $450,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He is the first black-type performer out of the Bernardini mare Areyoucominghere, who counts herself as a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Suddenbreakingnews. This is the same female line as two-time Grade 1 heroine Composure.

Cyclone Mischief has earned Brisnet Speed ratings of 99-80-97-97 from four starts in 2023. He will need a big step forward in order to challenge for the upset in the deep and bulky Kentucky Derby field, and he must also prove that he can endure the 1 1/4-mile distance. However, the talented colt figures to be a serious pace factor in the Run for the Roses.

• JOHNSON: Cyclone Mischief Pedigree Profile
• SCULLY: Cyclone Mischief Kentucky Derby Context