NEWS
McLaughlin gets Tricky victory in Acorn
Posted: Saturday, June 11, 2011 3:50 PM
IT'S TRICKY
PhotosByZ.com/Thoroughbred Times
For video of the TVG Acorn Stakes, click here.
by Teresa Genaro
On a miserably damp day at Belmont Park, It’s Tricky and Kiaran McLaughlin might have been the only two enjoying the weather as his three-year-old Mineshaft filly won the $300,000 TVG Acorn Stakes (G1).
It’s Tricky won three races in dominating fashion in the fall and winter at Aqueduct before faltering badly in the Gulfstream Oaks (G2) on April 2.
“She didn’t do well in the heat in Florida,” McLaughlin said after his bay filly upset a field of six that included multiple Grade 1 winner Turbulent Descent.
It’s Tricky pressed pacesetter Savvy Supreme through a half-mile, with Turbulent Descent several lengths behind. She took the lead at the top of the stretch and, with Turbulent Descent taking aim at her, held off the challenge and drove to a 3 3/4-length victory, covering the distance in 1:35.48 on a track labeled muddy.
“This is a fabulous win; the biggest win of the year,” said McLaughlin, giving credit to assistant trainer Artie Magnuson and his New York staff. “When we got her back here from Florida, he had patience and did a great job with her.”
While the crowd at Belmont suffered through showers and chilly temperatures, McLaughlin welcomed the rain.
“I thought it would be to our advantage,” he said.
McLaughlin named the TVG Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) and TVG Alabama Stakes (G1), both at Saratoga Race Course, as possible late-summer targets for It’s Tricky.
Bred in Kentucky by Stonerside Stable, It’s Tricky has won four of five starts and earned $288,000 for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Darley Stable. She is the first starter out of the Grade 3-winning Tale of the Cat mare Catboat.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Teresa Genaro is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer
