Tricky One ready and raring to go!
NA CILIATA’s narrow victory with sparingly used claiming rider Romario Spencer, hasn’t been lost on champion trainer Anthony Nunes, handing TRICKY ONE’s reins in Saturday’s overnight allowance to Youville Pinnock, who showed his worth aboard Philip Feanny’s BATTLE DANCER in a tight finish recently.
At seven furlongs, the odds appear stacked against TRICKY ONE, a fiveyear-old reputed to require distances in excess of a mile, confirmed by pedigree and past performances. However, pace not only makes but can also break the race, especially on a good track, giving a sluggard such as TRICKY ONE every chance of nailing quicker horses at the right handicaps.
Reporting at 114lb after the weight allowance, TRICKY ONE’s running style leaves Pinnock with few decisions to make, unlike the riders aboard horses expected to be in the pace – SEBASTIAN, ROHAN KABIR, EXTRUDER, ENUFFISENUFF and WILSON – who will all have to be keeping tabs on each other.
RIVALS WILL BE WEAKENING
Pinnock needs only to stalk from wherever TRICKY ONE gets into the race and rouse the closer in the stretch run where his rivals will be weakening after trying to get rid of each other for five furlongs.
Throw TRICKY ONE’s last four races out the window, especially his most recent, a 12-length finish behind all-the-rage stablemate LEGALITY, at nine furlongs and 25 yards. Note how he improved into fifth place, under minimum urging, a furlong out in his previous race behind DOUBLE
CROWN and ANOTHER AFFAIR in their match race at eight and a half furlongs.
A better indicator of TRICKY ONE’s ability was his fourth- place run behind SUPERLUMINAL, LEGALITY and BIG BANG, breaking from postposition one on December 5 at a mile, horses who have all returned as either winners or battling losers in good company since.
When last this light, TRICKY ONE won back- to- back races, a disqualification included, ridden both times by a claiming rider, Oshane Nugent, who is out injured, leaving Pinnock to grab the spoils as long as he doesn’t let the field get too far ahead of him coming off the home turn.
TRICKY ONE couldn’t have been prepared any better, consecutive Sunday morning gallops, reporting off a well-deserved three-week break.