November 2000 California Thoroughbred

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November 2000

TIZ A SUPER DERBY

Photo by Jim Hudelson

By RUDI GROOTHEDDE

Exactly four months to the day after his facile maiden win at Hollywood Park on the last day of May, the Cal-bred sophomore colt Tiznow, showed everyone that he has certainly come a long way since, with a record breaking win in the grade I Super Derby at Louisiana Downs on Saturday, September 30. The imposing bay colt proved to be the dominant force in this $500,000 race, contested at one and a quarter miles, when he clipped 2/5 of a second off the existing track record of 2:00 1/5, a mark established by Gate Dancer in 1984, and then equaled by Mecke in 1995.

This year's renewal saw Tiznow humiliate the Belmont Stakes winner Commendable, on his way to an easy victory as the favorite in this year's final grade I race on the dirt for 3-year-olds. By becoming only the second gate-to-wire winner of this event in 21 years, his name is now added to the illustrious list of previous winners of this event, such as Sunday Silence, who also won this event by a corresponding six lengths.

After arriving in Bossier City on the Tuesday prior to the race, trainer Jay Robbins' representative showed some good workouts for a horse on the first road trip of his career. There were only five other entries named alongside Tiznow for the race, all of whom had more runs to their name than the horse that was getting the most media attention. But this majority interest was most deserved, as the west coast based runner boasted an impressive record in his last three finishes, the most recent of which was a game second amongst older horses in the grade I $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August.

Prior to that, in the grade I Swaps Stakes about a month earlier, he had chased home the subsequent grade II Kentucky Cup victor, Captain Steve. It has been a very good effort for Tiznow, considering that he had washed out a bit in the post parade and then had encountered traffic problems during the running of the race. These two gallant seconds came on the heels of his gutsy triumph in the grade III Affirmed Handicap on July 1, when he had courageously beat Dixie Union, whose next start would see him win the grade I Haskell Invitational Handicap.

Photo by Charlie Gesell
So it was not surprising that Tiznow ran big in the Super Derby. He did break a fraction on the slow side, but quickly regained his stride - "a huge, fluid stride", as jockey Chris McCarron declared after the race - and proceeded to lead the field around the first turn. The perceived danger, Commendable, then slowly moved up to the 4/5 shot and kept him honest along the backstretch.

But Tiznow was prepared for this challenge, and showed that he was made of sterner stuff when he edged clear again at the mile post, reached in 1:35 1/5. After that, the Super Derby turned into a proverbial one-horse race, as Tiznow extended his lead in the stretch to win in a canter, as the track announcer, Frank Mirahmadi, delightfully shouted, "This is a superstar in the making."

Photo by Mike Silva
For his efforts, or more appropriately for his 'walk in the park', Tiznow pocketed $300,000 to increase his lifetime payroll to $725,550 from three wins and the same number of seconds in seven starts. This victory also resulted in Tiznow breaking into the top ten of the NTRA poll to rank 8th amongst this year's leading runners, as voted by the nation's sports and media representatives.

Bred in California by the octogenarian, Cecilia Straub-Rubens, who owns him in partnership with Michael Cooper, the trustee of her family trust, Tiznow is the result of the 1996 mating between the winning Seattle Song mare, Cee's Song, and the successful Harris Farms' Inc. stallion, Cee's Tizzy.

In fact, there is another story right there, for this son of Relaunch was a Super Derby runner himself. That was a decade ago, when he carried the Straub-Rubens' silks to a creditable third-place finish, only a neck behind runner-up Unbridled, who was over three lengths adrift of that day's winner, Home at Last. In the process, Cee's Tizzy unfortunately suffered a career-ending injury, so it was somewhat of a case of sweet vindication that Tiznow returned this year to avenge his sire's defeat of 1990.

And Tiznow's win probably also laid another ghost to rest, that of the achievements of his brother, Budroyale. The tale has often been told of this gelding being lost by Straub-Rubens and Robbins in a claiming race in his first start, and how he has gone on to earn nearly $2.9 million at the track. But for Budroyale, a grade I win has proved elusive to this day, so now that Tiznow has won at the highest level and promises to build on that success, justice has been done.

Therefore it was not surprising that the horse's connections were elated after the race and Michael Cooper summed up the feeling by saying, "We're just tickled pink, as you can imagine." Trainer Jay Robbins was also ebullient, stating that Tiznow, "had always demonstrated more than Budroyale at the same time" and, "could be the best horse I have ever trained." These are powerful words, considering that his nearly 30 year's of experience have seen him condition such greats as Flying Continental and Nostalgia's Star, the former being one of California's leading all-time money winners and now a successful sire in the golden state.

But the last word should probably go to Chris McCarron who confidently announced after his 'hands and heels' ride, where he could have easily left his whip at home that, "this is the best 3-year-old in the country right now."

So, wherever Tiznow chooses to go next, be it the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap, the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Wells Fargo California Cup Classic, the Japan Dirt Cup or a combination thereof, the message is clear. Watch out fellow sophomores and watch out older horses - and that includes you, Fusaichi Pegasus, Albert the Great and Lemon Drop Kid - for 'Tiz Now' (excuse the pun) going to be difficult to beat this classy Cal-bred.