Saratoga: It's Tricky enjoys the quiet setting

Tom Keyser

It's Tricky is being pointed to the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign on Aug. 26.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The bucolic setting of the Godolphin Training Center adjacent to the backstretch of Saratoga’s main track is the perfect atmosphere for those horses that can be, say, a little tricky.

That is one reason why trainer Kiaran McLaughlin opted to work the aptly named It’s Tricky over the training center’s synthetic surface Saturday morning, where at 9:30 a.m. she was the only horse on the track.

It’s Tricky put in a solid half-mile breeze in 49.97 seconds under exercise rider Renzo Morales. She went her first quarter in 25.47 seconds and her second quarter in 24.50. She continued to gallop out all the way to the far turn of the training track before allowing her stable pony to catch up to her and take her home.

“That’s not always her,” McLaughlin said of the extended gallop out. “She’s doing great.”

It was the fourth work for It’s Tricky since she won the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont on May 28, making her 3 for 3 this year. It’s Tricky skipped works July 7 and July 21, but will now be back on a regular weekly pattern leading up to her next start, presumably the Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign here Aug.  26.

McLaughlin said it is “60-40” that It’s Tricky will run in the Personal Ensign over the seven-furlong Ballerina, a Grade 1 race run Aug. 24. As the races get closer and the fields materialize, McLaughlin said he will consult with Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford to make a final decision.

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It’s Tricky shipped from Belmont to Saratoga on July 17 and has been stabled at the training center ever since. It’s Tricky has already gotten acquainted with Saratoga’s main track, having won the Coaching Club American Oaks last year while also finishing second in the Alabama.

McLaughlin said he likes the training center setting for older horses.

“We know what her talents are, we know what her surface is,” McLaughlin said. “We like to gallop her here when there’s nobody on the racetrack. Older horses really freshen up and like it. It’s a very kind surface.”