Duggan finds key to success for Intentious
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With another sharp statebred allowance victory last month, it became undeniable that 5-year-old mare Intentious has turned a corner in New York. Having bucked her long-standing reputation as an Aqueduct also-ran, trainer David Duggan will now bring her into open company for Friday’s fourth race, an $83,000 first-level allowance.
“Obviously, it gets a little bit deep,” Duggan said. “You meet a different quality of horse. She’s a late-running sprinter, so the more pace we have to run at, the better.”
For more than a year after the start of her career, Intentious’s time in the winner’s circle was strictly confined to Finger Lakes, with efforts on turf and dirt at Aqueduct proving insufficient. But in a one-race trip back upstate last June, Duggan made an accidental discovery that instantly changed the course of her career.
In an allowance at Finger Lakes, Intentious was fractious in the gate and broke extremely slow, ceding open lengths to the rest of the field. She mustered an intense rally, however, and despite checking on the turn, she still managed to win by a length. Duggan decided the running style could be honed for bigger races.
“I said I wasn’t going to change the wheel when we brought her back down to Belmont and then Saratoga,” Duggan said. “We’ve stuck to that kind of patented running style, and it seems to have worked for us.”
Two months after that start at Finger Lakes, Intentious shipped to Saratoga, settled well off the pace, and closed fast to finish second in a $95,000 statebred allowance. She has finished third or better in five starts at Aqueduct since, including the $125,000 Staten Island division of the New York Stallion Series. On Feb. 21, she relished a muddy track to win an allowance by 2 3/4 lengths with an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.
“You wonder whether it was wet track-related or whether it was just the dynamics of the race,” Duggan said. “But I think that her number will always get elevated once they go fast in front. I think that’s the key factor.”
Friday’s field of five open-company fillies and mares is among the toughest Intentious has faced, but her recent form at six furlongs makes her a solid contender.
Romantic Dancer, a 5-year-old mare trained by Rick Dutrow, has finished second in four straight starts, beginning with a 10 1/2-length defeat to Lucille Ball on Jan. 2. Her closest defeat came Feb. 5, when she finished a neck behind Roman Grace, a contender in the $150,000 Stellar Wind Handicap on Friday at Colonial Downs.
Trainer Linda Rice entered a pair of 4-year-old fillies with live chances. Always Practical’s last two starts were separated by four months, but both were winning efforts and she could improve again to prolong the streak. Will Not Be Swayed finished third at this allowance level last month, struggling to close in a race that seemed to favor early speed.
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