Breeders' Cup trainers Cherie DeVaux and Mark Casse provided the latest reminder that there is no standard personality type among top Thoroughbreds.
DeVaux will send out dual classic winner Golden Tempo in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and leading 3-year-old male sprinter Englishman in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). In the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), Casse will saddle the leading older filly or mare to date this season Nitrogen. All three races are Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
Golden Tempo seized control of his division by rallying to victory in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) this spring. Englishman is the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the Sprint off of back-to-back dominating wins over other sprinters of his generation in the Woody Stephens (G1) and H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) stakes.
DeVaux said it's been an honor to train these two horses this season, adding that on the track they're opposites in terms of running style and types of races. In the mornings, she said Golden Tempo oozes confidence while Englishman is a young athlete with overwhelming talent.
"They're both unique. Englishman is super laid back. He's an easy horse to train in that respect," DeVaux said. "He kind of just goes out there, does his own thing, and he's actually quite lazy if you don't put him in the bridle to engage what he's doing."
"Golden Tempo ... he's got a different air," DeVaux said. "Golden Tempo, it feels like he's got just a lot of class. He's very confident when he goes out there.
"Englishman will stand out there. He's very well behaved, but you see Golden Tempo, and he's just always looking. He's always engaging with people around him. He kind of walks around like he's the man. Englishman is a good boy, but that confidence that Golden Tempo has is unique to him. He's always had that."
DeVaux recalled a cold, windy day over the winter at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots when Golden Tempo, a homebred for Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, stood calmly as a horn went off and other horses were around him as he was getting ready to jog.
"He just stood there and he was just taking it all in," said DeVaux, noting that she then called the owners later that morning. "I said, 'I don't know how talented he is, but mentally he's there.' He's got that champion mentality."
DeVaux painted a picture of Englishman, owned by C R K Stable, as an athlete who just overwhelms rivals—a natural.
"Englishman is one of those horses that you don't really know how fast he is," DeVaux said. "You just know he's really fast, and you only get to see it when he's out there on race day."
Nitrogen, a D. J. Stable homebred, earned the Eclipse Award as 3-year-old champion filly last year in a season in which she captured graded stakes on turf and dirt, including a victory in the Alabama Stakes (G1). That followed her Sovereign Award at 2 as Canada's champion juvenile filly.
This year, the 4-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro has added a win in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) and ran a strong second against males in the Whitney Stakes (G1). She's the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the Distaff where she will try to improve on her runner-up finish in that race a year ago.
Casse said Nitrogen is well aware that a race is on the horizon.
"She's been a little fired up lately. I think she knows when she gets that purple saddle towel on that this is special because she's usually a little bit laid back," Casse said. "She's fired up right now and ready, and she knows everybody's paying attention.
"But she's kind. Sometimes she gets a little wound up in her stall, and she kicks a little more than I like. She will kick the wall, and I'll have heart palpitations. But, all in all, she's very kind."
