Three Witches earns Breeders’ Cup trip with Princess Rooney Inv. (G3) win

Three Witches took Saturday’s $200,000 Princess Rooney Inv. (G3), earning the 4-year-old Into Mischief filly an automatic entry into next month’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita.

Three Witches was one of Into Mischief three graded stakes winners on the day, joining Timberlake, who took the Champagne S. (G1) and Gina Romantica, winner of the First Lady S. (G1) at Keeneland. Into Mischief now has six grade 1 winners and 13 graded winners overall this year and leads the General Sires list with $21.1 million in progeny earnings.

Coming off an impressive Aug. 27 allowance win, Three Witches was making her stakes debut on Saturday. She travelled between horses down the backstretch, then began to gain ground around the turn. She came to the front four-wide turning for home and dug in gamely to hold off Maryquitecontrary by a half-length in 1:22.89 for the seven furlongs on a fast track.

“The Breeders’ Cup, we’ll talk about. It’s another jump up,” trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said. “She earned the right to go. We’ll have to decide. [Owner] Bob [Edwards] is going to make that decision. I’ll give him feedback on how she’s doing, but he’ll make the call.”

Three Witches is owned by Edwards’ e Five Racing Thoroughbreds. She is 3-1-2 in seven starts and has earned $199,870.

Bred by Machmer Hall, Three Witches is a half-sister to graded stakes winners Kid Cruz and Spellbound.