Tempered Appeal back in form

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A rejuvenated Tempered Appeal will try to string together his second consecutive peak performance Saturday at Woodbine in the $172,650 Eclipse Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile race for older runners.

Tempered Appeal was claimed for $80,000 by trainer Abraham Katryan on behalf of owner Bruno Schickedanz in July 2001, and captured the Bold Venture Handicap in his next start. Tempered Appeal also won an allowance race in his final 2001 outing.

But Tempered Appeal failed to hit the board in seven subsequent starts over the next year and a half. He spent the past winter with trainer Henry Collazo at Gulfstream, where he finished ninth in a Jan. 22 allowance and fourth in a $100,000 optional claimer March 2.

Tempered Appeal was reunited with Katryan this spring. He snapped out of his slump in the mile-and-70-yard allowance prep for the Eclipse, leading throughout to win by nearly five lengths, while earning a career high Beyer Speed Figure of 102.

Katryan said Tempered Appeal's wake-up effort in the prep wasn't a total shock.

"He had had a couple of races at Gulfstream, and was just starting to come around," Katryan said. "The track suited him perfectly."

Katryan said he doesn't anticipate a bounce from Tempered Appeal on Saturday.

"I think he'll throw another big race," Katryan said. "He's come back healthy and strong. He's been training even better than he was going into this last race."

Rounding out the field for the Grade 3 Eclipse are Indy Lead, Tails of the Crypt, Phantom Light, No Comprende, Anglian Prince, Lil Personalitee, Four Alert, Chris's Bad Boy, Kiss a Native, Attest, and Malmaison.

Kiss a Native, Canada's champion 3-year-old in 2000, is returning from a 14-month absence. He has had a series of lively workouts for trainer David Bell.

Kiss a Native took the Grade 2 Pegasus Handicap at The Meadowlands in 2000, and was third in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream early last year.

Anglian Prince could be poised to run a big race in his third start after undergoing knee surgery in the fall. Trained by Mort Hardy, Anglian Prince finished second to longshot TJ's Lucky Moon in last year's Queen's Plate. "He's going into this race in good shape," said Hardy's assistant trainer, Conrad Belaire. "He's really matured this year."

* TJ's Lucky Moon will make his first start since his 10th-place finish in the July 21 Prince of Wales Stakes in Saturday's third race, a seven-furlong allowance.