New York-bred Truancy back with fillies while testing open company
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A pair of New York-breds, Truancy and Classy Edition, have come to South Florida for the winter and will meet up as the likely favorites in Wednesday’s $86,000 allowance headliner at Gulfstream Park.
Truancy has not finished worse than second in four starts and will try open company for the first time in her local debut. She will be returning against her own kind after taking on males in her 3-year-old finale going 1 1/8 miles on Oct. 16 at Aqueduct. She finished second in that race to the vastly more experienced, stakes-placed Curlin’s Wisdom [second in the Empire Classic] despite taking up briefly into the first turn and fighting off a couple of early challengers before succumbing by a half-length in the final yards.
“She’s a very game filly, she likes to look them in the eye, although I’m not sure she saw the horse that beat her last time who was finishing out near the middle of the track,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. “We gave her a little break after that race and she’s done everything right since we got down here. I just feel real good about her. She’s definitely going in the right direction.
“This is not an easy field and she drew the rail, but I’m not going to worry about it because there’s nothing you can do about it anyway.”
When asked if her last start against the boys in New York was her best race yet, Tagg quipped, “I hope not!”
Classy Edition will make her second local appearance after finishing second here last winter behind the odds-on Kathleen O in the Grade 2 Davona Dale. She has made only one start since, finishing a tiring fourth, beaten 3 3/4 lengths by Nostalgic, in the Grade 3 Gazelle on April 9 at Aqueduct.
Classy Edition is one of two fillies trainer Todd Pletcher entered in Wednesday’s race along with Liam’s Kiss, who returned from a nine-month layoff of her own to finish a troubled and distant fourth under similar allowance conditions Dec. 14.
Trainer Chad Brown also has a filly to reckon with in the race, the lightly raced Signal From Noise, who finished second in a super key race debuting Sept. 23 at Aqueduct before returning with an explosive 9 1/4-length victory as a prohibitive 1-5 favorite going a mile over the same track eight weeks later.
Olga Isabel, disqualified out of an apparent allowance win on Oct. 7 at Keeneland, could prove the one to catch in a field that also includes Freccia d’Argento and Customer Driven.
Cyclone Mischief gets 90 Beyer
Cyclone Mischief put himself squarely on the Kentucky Derby trail after drawing off to a very impressive 5 3/4-length allowance win going a mile against a strong field in Sunday’s feature race. The son of Into Mischief earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure for the performance.
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Cyclone Mischief was returning to allowance competition after finishing seventh, although beaten just more than two lengths, after setting a contested pace in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club in his juvenile finale.
Tyler Gaffalione rode Cyclone Mischief as a late replacement for Luis Saez, who fortunately walked away without any apparent injuries when involved in a nasty-looking spill in the previous race.
“I hate for Luis to miss the mount, but Tyler was a good fill in,” trainer Dale Romans said in the winner’s circle after the race. “He got a perfect trip. Everything went well. We wanted to see if he’d sit behind and he did. And Tyler said after the race distance should make no difference, that he should just get better the further he goes. I think he’s a special horse.”
Romans said the Grade 3 Holy Bull on Feb. 4 would “probably” be the spot he’ll pick out for Cyclone Mischief’s next start.
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