Trainer Arnaud Delacour entered Lael Stable's Tricks to Doo in Saturday's $100,000 Hutcheson Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park with confidence that the son of Into Mischief will improve on a fourth-place finish in the Feb. 3 Swale Stakes (G3).
Delacour is convinced the Hutcheson, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds, will be more in Tricks to Doo's wheelhouse than the seven-furlong Swale proved to be.
"I think six furlongs is really his game. I think seven furlongs might have been a little too long last time," Delacour said. "I'm very happy with the six furlongs for him."
Tricks to Doo chased the pace into the stretch before fading to fourth behind victorious frontrunner Strike Power, the 4-5 favorite who went on to finish second in the March 3 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2).
"I didn't see any excuses. I thought we had a good trip. The seven-eighths was a little too far for him," Delacour said. "The track was probably a little bit tiring. We had some rain the day before, but Strike Power is a very nice horse, and I didn't see any excuses."
Tricks to Doo has been training at Classic Mile Training Center in Ocala, Fla., where he has breezed four times, including a pair of recent bullet workouts.
"I've got a barn there, where I keep a lot of my horses. I like the fact that it is a little bit more quiet," Delacour said. "For him, he was getting a little bit edgy, so I thought it would be good to be in a quiet environment."
Tricks to Doo debuted with a third-place finish Oct. 7 at Keeneland before breaking his maiden by 5 3/4 lengths three weeks later at Laurel Park. The Kentucky-bred colt came right back to capture the Dec. 16 Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. His first three races were run at six furlongs.
"He always showed a lot of speed in his workouts, but I always had a question mark regarding his ability to go longer," Delacour said.
Irad Ortiz Jr. is scheduled to ride Tricks to Doo for the first time Saturday while clashing with five rivals, including GoldMark Farm's 2017 Florida Sire Stakes star Soutache, who is scheduled to make his first start since capturing the $400,000 FSS In Reality Sept. 30 at Gulfstream.
"He's doing well; he's moving well. He seems good. Hopefully, he makes the transition from 2-year-old to 3-year-old," trainer Ralph Nicks said.
The son of Backtalk debuted at Gulfstream July 2, scoring by half a length over Pony Up. He finished third in the six-furlong FSS Dr. Fager before winning the next two legs of the series for juveniles sired by accredited Florida stallions.
In the Sept. 30 In Reality Stakes, Soutache tried two turns for the first time with a 1 1/2-length victory over next-out winner Tip Sheet.
"He showed a lot of courage. He had a lot of races together, and it was his first start two turns," Nicks said. "He showed a lot of courage getting it done."
Impact Player is slated to make his stakes debut in the Hutcheson after winning his last two starts at Gulfstream. The Todd Pletcher-trained colt broke his maiden at six furlongs Dec. 13 before scoring by 7 1/4 lengths in a Jan. 17 optional claiming allowance at seven furlongs.
Gulfstream Park, Saturday, March 24, 2018, Race 12Entries: Hutcheson S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Impact Player (KY) Luis Saez 117 Todd A. Pletcher 9/5 2 2Belle Tapisserie (KY) Robby Albarado 117 Jaime Mejia 5/2 3 3Madison's Luna (KY) Julien R. Leparoux 117 Philip A. Bauer 6/1 4 4Tricks to Doo (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 121 Arnaud Delacour 2/1 5 5My Chinumado (KY) Jorge M. Perez 117 Jaime Mejia 30/1 6 6Soutache (FL) Tyler Gaffalione 121 Ralph E. Nicks 8/1
