Tricky Temper improves to 3-for-6 at Saratoga with victory in Friday’s Union Avenue Handicap. NYRA Photo.
By Tom Law
Jeremiah Englehart felt like the time was right to give Tricky Temper a short break last fall after some up-and-down results over a 19-day span during the Belmont at the Big A meeting.
Mark Stanley, who owns the daughter of Into Mischief, didn’t exactly agree.
“I don’t know,” Stanley told Englehart. “I don’t like doing that when they’re doing well.”
Tricky Temper showed how well 22 days later with a victory over eventual champion New York-bred 2-year-old filly Cara’s Time and other New York-breds in the Key Cents Stakes at Aqueduct. Tricky Temper didn’t run again for two months and earned a break after a third in the Franklin Square to open her sophomore campaign in mid-January.
“When she ran third it was kind of a bad third; then it was OK to give her the time off,” Englehart said. “And now she’s come back with some really good races as a 3-year-old.”
Tricky Temper turned in one of those Friday at Saratoga Race Course, upending five older New York-bred fillies and mares in the $125,000 Union Avenue Handicap under Flavien Prat.
The 2-1 second choice, Tricky Temper handled 4-5 favorite Leeloo by 3 lengths to improve to 4-for-10 in her career. She also improved to 3-for-6 at Saratoga, adding the Union Avenue to her victory in a state-bred allowance-optional 14 days ago.
“Coming out of her last race, coming off that two weeks’ layoff, she was really strong in the mornings,” Englehart said of the filly Stanley purchased at the 2023 OBS April sale for $230,000. “She seemed really happy. I told Mark when this race came back, it’s another two weeks. We were nominated so we could probably go ahead and give it a go.”
Stanley didn’t hesitate.
“I’m game,” he told Englehart.
Not among the entries in the Union Avenue scheduled for August 9 but moved to Friday when Tropical Storm Debby canceled racing, Tricky Temper broke fast between longshot Captainsdaughter and Cousin Kristi before Prat allowed her to drop behind the speed of Majestic Return, Leeloo and Security Code.
Majestic Return and Leeloo battled through quick fractions of :22.23 and :45.46 with Tricky Temper taking aim at the leaders on the outside. Security Code made a similar run at the top two from the inside but didn’t quicken like Tricky Temper as the field straightened away.
Tricky Temper took control outside the eighth pole, rushing past Leeloo and a tiring Majestic Return past 5 furlongs in :57.61. Prat stayed busy from there and Tricky Temper drew off to win in 1:10.19. Leelee held second, 3 1/4 lengths ahead of Security Code with Majestic Return, Cousin Kristi and Captainsdaughter completing the field.
“Very straight forward,” Prat said. “She jumped well out of the gate and gave us a good position right away. I was traveling very well behind the leaders and when I tipped her out, she gave me a good kick.”
The Union Avenue marked Tricky Temper’s fourth straight start at Saratoga. She finished third, beaten just 2 1/4 lengths in the Bouwerie Stakes coming back from almost six months on the sidelines on New York Showcase Day to close the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. She followed that up with a sixth in an open-company allowance July 19 before winning against state-breds August 2.
Englehart joked that he hated running off short rest, despite some encouraging statistics to the contrary making their way through the airwaves Friday morning.
“It was funny, the NYRA show was talking this morning about how I’m like 32 percent on two-week layoffs,” Englehart said. “I’m like, ‘That can’t be right, I absolutely hate doing the two-week layoff thing.’ ”
Englehart instead credited the filly, who was bred by Sequel Thoroughbreds and Lakland Farm, and her regular morning partner for her success now past the midpoint of her 3-year-old campaign.
“This was all her. She’s been different this year,” Englehart said. “In the mornings last year, I never could figure out what she was. I didn’t know if she was turf. I ran her the first time and she won an off-the-turf dirt race, and I didn’t know really. In the mornings, she never grabbed the bridle, she just did what we asked her to do. This year, she’ll try to run off because she is just enjoying herself. She is having fun when she goes out there.
“I’ve got to give a big shout out to Talia Viscusi, her exercise rider. She works very hard getting her to relax. She’s done a great job with her.”
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. She was one of 17 New York-bred juveniles that sold for six figures at last year’s OBS April sale.
Tricky Temper is a full-sister to winner Mischief Mogul and a half-sister to winners Winter Wolf and Marley’s Ghost. A six-time winner and earner of $148,299, Winter Book is also the dam of the New York-bred 2-year-old Gift Box filly Leave the Go Girl and a filly by Yaupon born March 14 in New York.
