Tempera upset in UAE 1,000 Guineas

Tempera suffered an embarrassing five-length defeat at the hands of her Godolphin stablemate Infinite Spirit in the $250,000 UAE 1,000 Guineas at Nad Al Sheba Thursday night.

Running for the first time since she surprised the world with her victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last October, the daughter of A.P. Indy challenged the front-running Infinite Spirit at the 3/16's pole, getting to within 1-1/2 lengths before the winner reasserted herself.

From there to the line Tempera was struggling and only held off the unheralded E.B.'s Sweep by 1-3/4 lengths for second. Infinite Spirit, who was ridden by John Carroll, was timed in the 1:37.97 for the mile on a fast dirt track. The daughter of Maria's Mon, a maiden winner on turf in England last year, had previously won a 7-1/2-furlong conditions race on dirt at Nad Al Sheba by 3-3/4 lengths over Seba, who was fourth in this evening's contest, which is officially labeled a "Prestige" stakes race.

"Tempera was very disappointing," said a dispirited Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford. "She's run way below her form and it's difficult to say what went wrong. She'd been training well and we were expecting her to win easily, but when Frankie (Dettori) asked her the question, there was nothing there. She has come back sound after the race but the fact is, she simply didn't fire."

Plans for both Tempera and Infinite Spirit are in flux.

"Infinite Spirit has improved since being switched to dirt and is going the right way," Crisford said. "We will sit down and discuss future plans for both her and Tempera. The UAE Oaks on April 14 is one option. As for Tempera herself, we will wait a while to see how she comes out of this race before making any decisions."

Tempera, whose juvenile victories included a 9-length triumph in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar last August, is nominated to both the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks as well as to the one-mile 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 5. Barring some rapid improvement, however, her appearance in any of those races looks rather doubtful at this time.