Tricks to Doo, Vouch give Delacour plenty to look forward to

Tricks to Doo still hasn’t raced beyond six furlongs, but given the way he drew away to victory last Saturday in the Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, trainer Arnaud Delacour can’t help but be enthused about the colt’s future.

Tricks to Doo earned an 89 Beyer Speed Figure for finishing six furlongs in 1:09.58 in his third start, which followed an Oct. 27 maiden romp at Laurel Park. He won the $50,000 Inaugural by 7 1/4 lengths as a 2-5 favorite.

“The very logical step is to go seven furlongs next time,” said Delacour, mentioning the Jan. 20 Pasco at Tampa or the Feb. 3 Swale at Gulfstream Park as the probable next start for Tricks to Doo. “He is a very exciting prospect.”

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Tricks to Doo, a 2-year-old bay colt by Into Mischief, was purchased in March for $600,000 by the Lael Stables of Roy and Gretchen Jackson of Barbaro fame. He will be kept apart from his stablemate Vouch in the early-season 3-year-old races. Vouch was third behind Catholic Boy and Avery Island in the Dec. 2 Remsen at Aqueduct in just his second start. Lael and Three Chimneys are partners on Vouch.

Delacour said he is considering the Feb. 10 Sam F. Davis or maybe the Feb. 3 Withers at Aqueduct for Vouch, a son of Yes It’s True. Vouch is one of about 20 horses that Delacour has at the Classic Mile training complex in Ocala, Fla., apart from about 35 head in Barn 9A at Tampa in Oldsmar, Fla.

Vouch had his first breeze since the Remsen on Sunday.

“He came out of the Remsen in good shape,” Delacour said. “He is not an easy horse to train, so we will see how he does before we make a decision.”

With 2017 dwindling to a close, Delacour, 42, was poised to surpass the $3 million milestone for the second straight year, with stable earnings at $2,962,541 into Wednesday action at Tampa. It has been a quick rise to prominence for Delacour, a former assistant to his fellow Frenchman and mentor Christophe Clement. His first year of training on his own was 2013, and he already has won graded stakes with such standouts as A. P. Indian, Divining Rod, and Ageless, all now retired.

Tricks to Doo and Vouch are the up-and-comers on a shed row that also includes a handful of stakes performers who will be back in action in 2018. The roster is led by Hawksmoor, winner of the Grade 3 Beaugay and Grade 2 New York and runner-up in the Grade 1 First Lady and Grade 1 Matriarch this year for Lael. The Irish-bred filly is at Classic Mile and will be campaigned at 5, said Delacour, with the March 10 Hillsborough at Tampa serving as a prep for the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April.

No Dozing, an earner of nearly $280,000, was recently gelded and will return to training next month, Delacour said. As for some of his lesser-known horses, the trainer is still hopeful that Madame Milan, a 2-year-old half-sister to Barbaro, could develop into a stakes performer after finishing third with a difficult trip as the odds-on favorite in a one-mile turf allowance last Saturday.

“Her trip was unfortunate,” Delacour said. “She is probably better than that, but a mile is probably a little short for her anyway. We will look to bring her back in the same type of race at a mile and a sixteenth or longer.”