Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Contact: John Scheinman
(718) 659-2244
ROYAL DELTA, IT’S TRICKY MEET FOR FIFTH TIME IN BELDAME
ELMONT, N.Y. – With seasonal honors in view, champion Royal Delta and multiple Grade 1 stakes winner It’s Tricky will resume their rivalry when they meet for a fifth time Saturday in the 74th running of the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Invitational for fillies and mares at Belmont Park.
The one-turn, 1 1/8-mile dirt race on
Besilu Stables’ Royal Delta, the even-money morning-line favorite for the Beldame, holds two career wins over It’s Tricky, both achieved last year, in the Grade 1 Alabama and Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic. It’s Tricky, 7-5 on the morning line, defeated Royal Delta in their first confrontation, the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks in July 2011 at Saratoga Race Course.
In their most recent matchup, on August 26, both were upset by long shot Love and Pride in an eventful running of the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at
Royal Delta has won more than $2.3 million in her 13 career starts, and It’s Tricky, owned by Godolphin Racing, has earned nearly $1.6 million in the same number of races.
Asked about their rivalry, Royal Delta’s Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said, “It’s been a good one. We beat her in the
This will be Royal Delta’s second attempt to win the Beldame, having finished second last year, beaten 8 ¼ lengths, by Havre de Grace. Royal Delta used the race as a springboard to her victory in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, and Mott laughed when asked about the importance of this year’s Beldame.
“Frankly, it’s a race I’d like to get on my resume as well as hers,” Mott said. “It’s a race I have never won. I know I’ve run in it with three of my Breeders’ Cup [Ladies’ Classic] winners, and each has been beaten. Royal Delta was second in it; Unrivaled Belle was second and she won the Breeders’ Cup; and a filly named Ajina was second and she won the Breeders’ Cup. So, do I hope I win it? I’d love to win it, but if I’m second, maybe it’s [OK].”
Royal Delta figures to be in her usual spot, stalking the pace from third or fourth, and she likely will spot an early advantage to It’s Tricky, who should be up near the lead with the speedy Cash for Clunkers.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin has kept It’s Tricky at
“She’s doing great,” McLaughlin said. “I was up there for her work two weeks ago, and she worked this Saturday, and she’s doing very, very well. She’s happy. She certainly isn’t missing oats.”
It’s Tricky is undefeated in two starts at
“We have good pace and always are there close,” McLaughlin said. “We feel like the situation is great with the weights being equal [at 123 pounds]. We gave [Love and Pride] nine pounds last time in the Personal Ensign when she stumbled.”
A victory over either of the top two would be a major upset, but Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens has never been one to back down from a challenge.
Jerkens will run Howard Whitbred’s Go Unbridled, a 5-year-old mare coming off a 6 ½-length victory in the Saratoga Dew for New York-breds on August 27 at Saratoga.
“It would be pretty hard to think she could win it, but if she could be in the money it would be a feather in her cap before she goes breeding,” Jerkens said of Go Unbridled, 20-1 on the morning line. “She’s doing well, and one thing about her is she can go a distance.”
Cash for Clunkers, 8-1 and trainer by Richard Violette, has not been out since stopping and finishing last in the Delaware Handicap in July, but on her best days she has been competitive in top company. The daughter of Tiznow finished second, beaten just three-quarters of a length to It’s Tricky in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Handicap at Belmont Park, and in her race before that recorded a 100 Beyer Speed Figure winning the Heatherten at 1 1/16 miles at Belmont.
Glencrest Farm’s 3-year-old Disposablepleasure, 12-1, returns to
Acting Happy, 20-1, winner of the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico in 2010, and graded stakes-placed Maristar, 15-1, complete the field.
The field for the Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame Invitational:
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