NYRA/Adam Coglianese
Temper Mint Patty (Congrats), impressive off-the-pace neck winner of her Spa debut over a dry track on August 29, absolutely romped second out over muddy going at Belmont to take the $150,000 Joseph A. Gimma for New York-bred juvenile fillies.
Trained by Dale Romans for Mark Stanley, and stretching out from six to seven furlongs, Temper Mint Patty got away well from her inside post, and traveled in third as Broman homebred Hard to Stay Notgo led the way through fractions of 22.22 and 45.45, a half-length ahead of Seeking the Ante winner Myfourchix.
Advancing into second in the far turn, but still with 2 1/2 lengths to make up on Hard to Stay Notgo, Temper Mint Patty made a decisive move at the rail, grabbed the lead just shy of the quarter pole and proceeded to open up by as much as she wished, in the event by 13 1/2 lengths. The final time over the sloppy (sealed) main track was 1:23.78, nearly a second faster than the winner of the co-featured Bertram Bongard two races earlier. [VIDEO]
Pilot Irad Ortiz, Jr. focused his decision to zip up the fence. “The horse in front of me tried to get out bad, said Ortiz. “I had some horse and I took a chance, and when I asked her she went right through. I think she can go further, too. She’s all right.”
Originally purchased by Becky Thomas as a yearling at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred sale for $30,000, Temper Mint Patty was purchased by Mark Stanley at the Fasig-Tipton Florida sale this March for $95,000 after posting a one-furlong work in 10.0 seconds.
Stanley explained the transaction. “I like [her sire] Congrats a lot; I think he’s very underrated, said Stanley. “The main thing is, Becky Thomas, who consigned [Temper Mint Patty] in the 2-year-old sale, had a lot of confidence in her, and she actually bought her back in the sale. I went and talked to her after, and she was high on her. She’s a pretty filly, so we felt like she was worth the money. She’s been a lot of fun so far.”
Stanley is also a man with a dream. “I thought in the first race she showed a lot of talent, but she matured before this one in just three weeks. Hopefully before the first Friday in May she’ll be even better. Friday [Kentucky Oaks], not Saturday.”
Bred by Gallagher’s Stud in Ghent where she was foaled on May 8, 2012, Temper Mint Patty is one of two winners out of stakes-winning turf router His Beauty, a Gallagher homebred, who is the daughter of graded stakes winner and $435,597-earner Adcat, also a product of Gallagher’s breeding.
His Beauty, who issues from the family of Deja, a multiple turf stakes winner in France, produced a weanling colt in February by New York-based sire Dublin and was bred this year to Mad Flatter.
