It's Tricky Wins Distaff Handicap at Big A
Godolphin Racing's It's Tricky ran her
Aqueduct Racetrack record to a perfect 5-for-5 Saturday afternoon as she
took the Grade 2, $200,000 Distaff Handicap by 3 ½ lengths.
Breaking
sharply, It's Tricky was taken back slightly on the outside as
Don'tbeshy I'll Buy led through an opening quarter-mile in 22.51,
pressed closely by Nicole H, who took over to run a half in 45.13.
Steadily encouraged by jockey Eddie Castro to remain in contention as
the field turned for home, It's Tricky was put to a drive while racing
three wide into the stretch and grabbed the lead with an eighth of a
mile to go, drawing well clear in the final stages.
It's
Ticky's final time for seven furlongs was 1:22.39. Sent off as the 3-5
favorite and 123-pound highweight in the field of five, she returned
$3.40 for a $2 win wager.
"She ran a mile and a
sixteenth the time before, but she broke sharp and was right there,"
said Castro. "I had to keep her busy a little bit at the three-eighths,
but when she was going, she was going. She was perfect in the stretch."
It
was the second win in as many starts this year for the 4-year-old
Mineshaft filly, who last month captured Aqueduct's Grade 2 Top Flight
Handicap to open her 2012 campaign. As a sophomore, It's Tricky won
back-to-back Grade 1 races in New York, taking Belmont Park's one-mile
TVG Acorn Stakes in June, and the 1 1/8-mile TVG Coaching Club American
Oaks at Saratoga Race Course the following month. It's Tricky now boasts
a record of 6-4-0 from 11 starts, with $1,286,500 in career earnings.
"That
was very exciting and it's always encouraging to see these fillies when
they come back from their 3-year-old year into their 4-year-old year,"
said Godolphin Racing Manager Jimmy Bell. "There are some pretty quick
fillies in this race and that certainly was a racehorse time from start
to finish. She's got what we all wish a lot of them had, she's got
tactical speed and can use it at any time and carry it a distance of
ground. She can do it short or long, she's certainly not one
dimensional. It's just great seeing her happy, healthy and really
interested in doing what she does best. This is another good step
forward."
Next on It's Tricky's agenda will likely be
Belmont Park's Grade 1, $400,000 Ogden Phipps Stakes, 1 1/16 miles
around one turn on May 28, a race trainer Kiaran McLaughlin has had
penciled in on her calendar for months.
"We're going to
want to run her longer next time, for sure," said Art Magnuson,
assistant to McLaughlin. "I think she couldn't keep up at the
three-eighths pole and [Eddie] wanted her not to fall behind. We're
happy she was here in New York. It's a long ship across the country, and
we're New York people anyway."
The late-running C C's
Pal was second, followed by Dontbeshy I'll Buy, Nicole H, and White
Merlot. Aquitania and Her Smile were scratched.