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Deceptive, a successful broodmare whose produce record is highlighted by two-time Breeders' Cup winner Mizdirection, died on July 17 at Glencrest Farm in Midway, Ky., Thoroughbred Daily News reports. She was 27.
Homebred and trained by Joseph J. Perrotta, Deceptive was unspectacular as a racehorse, going winless in 20 starts over three seasons of racing in Maryland and West Virginia. However, the daughter of Clever Trick banked over $40,000 by finishing second or third in 11 or those starts.
Despite never finding the winner's circle, Perrotta added Deceptive to his broodmare band, and he was immediately rewarded for his faith with the Sea of Secrets mare Hurricane Bernie, who sold as a yearling to owner Joel Politi for $27,000 and became a stakes-winning juvenile.
Deceptive continued to produce modest-priced auction horses for Perrotta, and her fourth foal was no different: a Mizzen Mast filly who went to Litt Bloodstock for $85,000 at the 2009 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She then sold the following year to Solis Bloodstock for $50,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.
Later named Mizdirection, the filly was placed in the Southern California barn of trainer Mike Puype for owners Tom Lenner, Alan Peterson, W. Strauss, Alex Solis II, and Jason Litt, among others. After breaking her maiden in her second start by 11 1/2 lengths, Mizdirection's partnership was shuffled to include media personality Jim Rome's Jungle Racing.
Mizdirection became one of the breed's biggest stars of the early 2010s, especially planting her flag in the downhill turf course at Santa Anita Park, where her perfect six-for-six record included two editions of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in 2012 and 2013. She retired with 11 victories in 17 starts for earnings of $1,719,621, then she sold to Al Shaqab Racing for $2.7 million at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.
Mizdirection is now an active broodmare in Europe, where she has sired three winners from five foals to race, but she is still seeking her first black type earner.
As for Deceptive, she continued to turn out foals by value-priced sires, who were largely sold for modest sums at auction. None of her ensuing foals matched the success of her first two stakes winners, then she hit a streak of bad luck in the late 2010s, where she had two foals die before reaching the racetrack, and failed to get in foal two other seasons, leaving a sizable gap in her produce record.
Deceptive had her final foal in 2020, an Always Dreaming colt named Mislead who Perrotta kept to race himself. He went unplaced in two starts at Turfway Park.
In total, Deceptive finished her broodmare career with nine foals, and six winners from seven starters.
Read more at Thoroughbred Daily News.
