Tricky Temper digs deep to win Key Cents

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Tricky Temper edges away late to win Saturday’s $100,000 Key Cents at Aqueduct. NYRA Photo.

Jeremiah Englehart wasn’t sure where Tricky Temper would excel – on dirt or turf – when he sat down to talk about the promising prospects and established veterans in his stable just before the start of this year’s Saratoga meet.

“I haven’t necessarily figured out if she’s dirt or turf, but the way she’s been working she’ll get a dirt start at first,” Englehart said in his Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour that appeared in The Saratoga Special’s second edition of 2023. “She could be a real nice filly.”

Tricky Temper proved that a few weeks later, winning an off-the-turf maiden race. The 2-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, who cost owner Mark Stanley $230,000 at the OBS April sale, took it up a notch Saturday with a determined victory over Cara’s Time in the $100,000 Key Cents Stakes at Aqueduct.

Tricky Temper won her first stakes in the 6-furlong Key Cents, after a fourth in the Seeking the Ante at Saratoga and a second in the off-the-turf Matron at the Belmont at the Big A meet. She also finished ninth, beaten 8 lengths against open company, in the Chelsey Flower going long on the grass last time out.

Back on the main track and facing just five foes in the Key Cents, Tricky Temper and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. went to the post as the 9-5 favorite. They needed almost every step of the stretch to wear down Cara’s Time, winner of the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes two starts back, but got up in time to win by a head in 1:11.74 over the fast main track.

“She broke well and put me in a beautiful spot. I just bided my time,” said Ortiz, who won the Notebook Stakes earlier on the card and riding his fourth of five winners overall on the day. “The horse in front of me [Cara’s Time] is a nice filly, so I just used her like a target and got there on time. Jeremiah did a great job with her. He was very positive and told me she was doing really well and to ride her with confidence.”

Dylan Davis took the initiative early on Cara’s Time, putting the daughter of Not This Time on the lead shortly after the break and to a sharp quarter-mile in :22.76. My Shea D Lady and Tricky Temper took up the chase up the backstretch and around the far turn, as Cara’s Time continued to lead through the half in :46.78.

“I was optimistic on her today,” said Davis, who rode Cara’s Time in the Gimma and in her second last time out in the Maid of the Mist Stakes on Empire Showcase Day. “Cutting back from the mile, I thought she definitely would be strong here at 6. She’s plenty fit and Mitch [Friedman, trainer] did a great job. She’s getting better every start and I really thought that we were home a winner.”

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Tricky Temper gave Irad Ortiz Jr. the response he asked for to win Saturday’s Key Cents. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.

Ortiz felt the same in midstretch as Tricky Temper continued to cut into a 1 1/2-length deficit in midstretch. They eventually wrested the lead inside the sixteenth pole and won by a neck. Cara’s Time finished 6 1/2 lengths clear of the Englehart-trained Unicorn Cake, with My Shea D Lady, Soloshot and Alley’s Song completing the field.

“She responded for me down the lane … that horse was a little bit better,” Davis said. “My filly, she’s very quirky and you’ve got to stay with her. She’ll drop you if you’re not paying attention to her. She ran great.”

Bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Lakland Farm and foaled at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson, Tricky Temper is the fourth foal out of the stakes-winning Any Given Saturday mare Winter Book. One of 17 New York-bred juveniles that sold for six figures at the OBS April sale, Tricky Temper is a full-sister to winner Mischief Mogul and a half-sister to winner Winter Wolf. A six-time winner and earner of $148,299, Winter Book is also the dam of New York-bred yearling filly by Gift Box.

Tricky Temper improved to 2-1-0 in five starts and earned $55,000 to boost her bankroll to $146,210.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/tricky-temper-the-key-cents.jpg
  2. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/tricky-temper-the-key-cents-credit-susie-raisher3.jpg

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/11/18/tricky-temper-digs-deep-to-win-key-cents/

Works for Me lands stakes score in Notebook

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Works for Me (outside) edges Detective Tom late to win Saturday’s $100,000 Notebook Stakes at Aqueduct. Joe Labozzetta/NYRA Photo.

Fresh off back-to-back placings in open stakes, Works for Me made a winning return to the state-bred ranks with a victory in Saturday’s $100,000 Notebook Stakes for 2-year-olds at Aqueduct.

A homebred son of Daddy Long Legs for KatieRich Stables, Chris Connors and Larry Appel, Works for Me and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. wore down stubborn frontrunner Detective Tom late to win the 6-furlong Notebook by a head. Aggelos the Great came up just short in his bid up the inside to finish third in the 10th renewal of the Notebook.

“Obviously, having Irad is great; it’s an asset,” winning trainer Joe Lee said. “I was pretty comfortable not with the race, but just comfortable having Irad. The way it turned out, we were outside and we were able to sit and rate today as opposed to being on the lead. In his last race on turf, [he was] kind of stuck down inside and had to get to the front again, so he’s never really rated. If you look back at his races, he’s always having to go to the front; not because he wants to or because of the jockey, but because of the way the race set up, the break of the race and so forth.”

Works for Me came into the Notebook off a second in the off-the-turf Futurity Stakes Oct. 8 and a close third in the 6-furlong Atlantic Beach Stakes on the turf Nov. 4, both during the Belmont at the Big A meeting.

The 6-5 favorite in the field of eight, Works for Me bobbled a bit at the break as 15-1 longshot Detective Tom zipped off to an easy lead through the opening quarter-mile in :23.28. Works for Me recovered from his start and put pressure on the leader around the far turn, and the two were separate by a length through the half in :47.04.

Detective Tom, fifth last time out in the Bertram F. Bongard and making his first start for Michelle Nevin, spurted away again in the stretch and led by a length in midstretch. Works for Me cut into that margin inside the eighth pole before getting up in time in 1:12.06 over the fast main track. Detective Tom finished three quarters of a length in front of 2-1 second choice Aggelos the Great. Perliano, Always a Warrior, Wine Responsibility, Bonne Chance and Ice the Kicker completed the field.

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Saturday’s Notebook produced a three-way photo with Works for Me (6) edging Detective Tom and Aggelos the Great. NYRA Photo.

“My horse was trying,” Ortiz said. “When I turned for home, I waited as long as I could. He never gave up and he was there. When I called his attention, he was responding. It was a good feeling I thought. I thought I could get there any time.”

Works for Me started his career in Kentucky, finishing a close third in a 5-furlong maiden special weight May 18 at Churchill Down for trainer Daniel Leitch. Transferred to Lee after that effort, Works for Me won a 5-furlong maiden at Belmont Park June 23 before a fourth in the Funny Cide Stakes on the Saratoga Showcase Day program in late August.

The Notebook was worth $55,000 to Works for Me, who improved to 2-1-2 in six starts and earnings of $160,150. Lee and Works for Me’s other connections considered Sunday’s $120,000 Central Park Stakes on the turf but opted to return to the main track Saturday.

“The owners saw that with the odds, the grass and having to go a mile for the first time, they thought that maybe the better option was going against New York-breds short on the dirt,” Lee said. “I know he ran well on the turf last time, but pretty much it was the owners’ decision, so I guided them on it.”

Foaled at Doyle Farm in Schuylerville, Works for Me is the first foal out of the Soldat mare Bella’s Game, a two-time winner in eight starts and earner of $58,850. A $90,000 purchase at the 2017 OBS April 2-year-olds in training sale, Bella’s Game is a half-sister to stakes-placed She’s Like Thunder from the family of 2001 Kentucky Derby runner-up Invisible Ink.

Bella’s Game did not produce a foal in 2022, when she did not sell in foal to Beau Liam at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale. She delivered a filly by Beau Liam, bred in New York by Taylor Barraclough and Shane Barraclough, in early April.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/works-for-me-the-notebook-credit-joe-labozzetta.jpg
  2. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/works-for-me-the-notebook.jpg

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/11/18/works-for-me-lands-stakes-score-in-notebook/

Malibu Moon filly Luna Patina highlights Keeneland HORA sale

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Keeneland wrapped its 2023 auction season with the horses of racing age sale Friday. Keeneland Photo.

Luna Patina, an unraced New York-bred 2-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, sold for $110,000 Friday at the Keeneland horses of racing age sale.

Glassman Racing LLC purchased the filly, sold as Hip 4303[2] out of Douglas Arnold’s Buck Pond Farm consignment.

Bred by Danzel Brendemuehl and Colleen Smith and foaled at The New Hill Farm in Hoosick Falls, Luna Patina is out of the Grade 3-winning Pleasant Tap mare Solo Survivor. Luna Patina, an $89,000 RNA at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale, turned in a 3-furlong breeze in :37.20 Wednesday at Keeneland Race Course.

Luna Patina is a half-sister to four winners, including stakes winner and $175,125-earner Hip Hop N Jazz and stakes-placed winner Strive.

Keeneland reported sales on eight of the 10 New York-breds through the ring Friday for a total of $266,500, an average price of $33,313 and median of $25,000.

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Winning 3-year-old Unified gelding Golden Arm sold for $40,000 to Connie Smith, agent for Phi Psi Brothers Stable I LLC. Photo courtesy of Royal Oak Farm.

The group also included Hip 4314[4], the winning 3-year-old Unified gelding Golden Arm, who sold for $40,000 to Connie Smith, agent for Phi Psi Brothers Stable I LLC. Bred by and foaled at Hidden Lake Farm in Stillwater and consigned by Damian and Braxton Lynch’s Royal Oak Farm, agent for BBN Racing, Golden Arm is out of the stakes-placed Tapit mare Tap for Luck.

A $160,000 purchase by BBN Racing at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale, Golden Arm owns a win and a second in six starts for $58,080 in earnings. He won his debut in late April at Aqueduct and most recently finished second in an $24,000 allowance going 5 1/2 furlongs Sept. 25 at Finger Lakes.

Orange Freeze, winner of the Statue of Liberty division of the New York Stallion Series Stakes this summer at Saratoga Race Course, sold for $30,000 to Milestone Farm, agent. Offered as Hip 4051[5] by Vinery Sales, agent, the 3-year-old daughter of six-time leading New York sire Freud out of the winning Birdstone mare Hoopskirt was sold as a racing or broodmare prospect.

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Orange Freeze, winner of the NYSS Statue of Liberty at Saratoga Race Course, sold for $30,000 Friday. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.

Bred by Thummp’s Racing Stable LLC and foaled at Gallagher’s Stud in Ghent, Orange Freeze originally sold for $112,000 to Smokestack Lightning at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. She was claimed by trainer Bill Morey and owners Bella Cavello Stables for $40,000 in June and won the $150,000 Statue of Liberty in late July. She added a runner-up finish in the $125,000 Suzie O’Cain Stakes in mid-August. Orange Freeze went through the ring with a record of 2-2-1 in nine starts and $161,405 in earnings.

Hoopskirt is the dam of three winners and an unraced 2-year-old full brother to Orange Freeze, Clinical Decision, who sold for $100,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale. She’s also the dam of a yearling full brother co-bred by Thummps Racing Stable and Sequel Thoroughbreds and a weanling full brother born in May and bred by Thummps Racing Stable.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ScenicsKSHORA11-23KLD2680.jpg
  2. Hip 4303: http://apps.keeneland.com/sales/k623/pdfs/4303.pdf
  3. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/modified_3655.jpeg
  4. Hip 4314: http://apps.keeneland.com/sales/k623/pdfs/4314.pdf
  5. Hip 4051: http://apps.keeneland.com/sales/k623/pdfs/4051.pdf
  6. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/orange-freeze-the-nyss-credit-susie-raisher.jpg

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2023/11/18/malibu-moon-filly-luna-patina-highlights-keeneland-hora-sale/

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