Belmont at the Big A Notes 10/11

NYRA PRESS OFFICE —-

Belmont at the Big A Notes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Sackatoga Stable’s impressive maiden winner Tiz Dashing will step into stakes company for the first time in next Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Awad, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for juveniles, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz Dashing is a son of New York-bred Tiz the Law, who proudly represented these connections in a stellar 2020 campaign with Grade 1 wins in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park, Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets at Belmont Park and the Travers at historic Saratoga Race Course.

Tiz the Law, who stands for $20,000 at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, is represented by a number of promising 2-year-olds, including the Kentucky-bred filly Non Compliant, who won the Grade 2 Oak Leaf on Saturday at Santa Anita Park for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert; and Lawrence Goichman’s New York homebred Scythian, who captured Sunday’s Grade 2 Miss Grillo at the Big A for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Both events offered “Win and You’re In” berths to the Breeders’ Cup with Non Compliant now on target for the Juvenile Fillies and Scythian to the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Other prominent Tiz the Law progeny thus far are Listed stakes-winner Tiztastic for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and stakes-winner Out On Bail for conditioner Mike Maker. Tiz the Law added to his growing list of winners on Thursday at Keeneland when the Victoria Oliver-trained Eunomia graduated at third asking when stretched out to 1 1/16-miles for the first time.

Sackatoga Stable’s Jack Knowlton said he is proud of Tiz the Law’s impressive start at stud, currently topping the freshman sire list with more than $1.9 million in progeny earnings.

“He’s the top in earnings by quite a bit at this point and yesterday was his 16th winner which puts him close to the top there,” Knowlton said. “We’re quite excited about that and we still do have a few of our folks that have interest in him as a stallion as part of the deal with Coolmore. We’re looking at that as an annuity going forward. Given his performance and what he’s producing, I would expect his fee will go up a bit next year.”

The Kentucky-bred Tiz Dashing, a $215,000 weanling purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale, was something of a departure for the Sackatoga Stable business model which focuses on purchasing New York-breds for their partnership groups.

“We did two things that we never do – he’s the first weanling that we’ve ever bought, so we had to wait two years rather than one year to see him race,” Knowlton said. “Secondly, he’s a Kentucky-bred. It’s probably been 15 or 20 years since we had one other non-New York-bred.”

Knowlton noted that the group that bought into Tiz Dashing are part of the original partners in Tiz the Law and the young colt did not disappoint on his September 20 debut sprinting six furlongs over firm turf here, rallying wide to win by a neck and garner a 65 Beyer Speed Figure.

“We wanted to get something from his first crop. I’d had a lot of interaction with the Coolmore and Ashford Stud folks and they were very high on this horse,” Knowlton said. “We spent more than we expected we would, but he really, in every way, has the same kind of body that Tiz had and the good manners that Tiz had. Certainly, based on his first race, he has some of the ability, too. We’re excited to take the next step.”

Tiz Dashing has worked back twice, including an easy five-eighths breeze in 1:05 flat on October 7 over the Oklahoma training turf at Saratoga Race Course.

Knowlton said Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will retain the mount for the Awad as Tiz Dashing stretches out in distance for the first time.

“We feel strongly that Tiz Dashing is going to relish going further,” Knowlton said. “His first race was very encouraging. Johnny Velazquez feels very positive about him and Barclay does, too. Let’s take a shot and enter the Awad. Jumping into a stakes race is a big jump up but we feel very good about him, and he’s trained real well. Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to prove that a week from tomorrow.”

Tiz Dashing, bred by Camas Park Stud, is out of the winning Into Mischief mare Breaking Bounty, who is a half-sister to turf graded stakes-winner Osidy. His second dam is dual Group 2-winner Que Belle.

Knowlton said he is not surprised that many of the Tiz the Law progeny are successful on turf given that his dam, the Tiznow mare Tizfiz, was a Grade 2 winner on turf.

“Tiz never ran on turf because he was so successful on dirt, but if he had been able to race as a 4-year-old maybe he would have,” Knowlton said. “His dam was a Grade 2-winner on turf, so it looks like that influence is coming through on a lot of the horses this year. There’s also been some that have won on Tapeta. It’s not a shock, but it’s different from his career obviously.”

In fact, Knowlton believes that Tiz the Law, who boasted a $1.9 million sales topper at the OBS Spring Sale in April, could see stronger performers in upcoming years.

“He probably had better mares this year,” Knowlton said. “That decision on him becoming a stallion wasn’t made until the last day of December because he came up with bone bruising and we couldn’t keep him as a racehorse the next year.”

Knowlton said he will hope to find his partners another Tiz the Law prospect at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale which happens to boast Hip 1319 – a bay Kentucky-bred colt out of multiple Grade 1-winner Bellafina.

“We’re hoping to go pick up another Tiz the Law – there’s only a handful of New York-breds so we’re looking beyond the New York-breds again,” Knowlton said. “It would be real nice to have a Tiz the Law 2-year-old to run at Saratoga next summer.”

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Siege of Boston raids G3 Knickerbocker

Allen Stable’s Siege of Boston has hit the board in three listed stakes and three graded races during his career, and now seeks the elusive graded win in Sunday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Knickerbocker, a nine-furlong outer turf route for 3-year-olds and up, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Jimmy Toner, the 5-year-old War Front horse enters from a third in the one-mile and seventy-yard Listed Tapit on August 29 at Kentucky Downs. There, Siege of Boston traveled in 8th-of-9 early before a wide rally for show-honors, beaten 3 1/2 lengths by the more forwardly-placed Irish Aces.

“The funny thing was that speed was holding on this year at Kentucky Downs pretty well. All in all, it was a good effort from him,” Toner said. “He always shows up.”

Previously, Siege of Boston was second beaten one length in the Listed Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup on August 4 at Ellis Park. It was a back-to-back narrow defeat after a half-length fourth when closing along the rail in the Grade 3 Monmouth in June at its namesake oval, won in a dead heat by Running Bee and Knickerbocker foe Fort Washington.

“That day [at Monmouth], the ground was not soft, let’s be real, but there was a little bit of give to it and I think there was a bit more give to the inside than the outside, and I think the outside closers got us right at the wire,” Toner explained. “It was a big effort. He’s a nice horse. He tries hard and gives you everything he’s got, every time he runs.

“Sooner or later, he is going to get in there,” Toner added.

Siege of Boston was beaten by the same half-length margin earlier this year when third in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay at its namesake oval and second in the Grade 3 Canadian Turf at Gulfstream Park. The latter earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure in defeat to Grade 1-placed Emmanuel- one tick shy of Reckoning Force’s Knickerbocker field-high 97.

Toner said that firm turf would likely be to Siege of Boston’s benefit, but he can always count on him to try hard.

“Listen he’s a nice horse, he’s a good, honest horse. He gives you everything he’s got no matter where you take him, no matter where you run him, he never runs a bad race,” said Toner.

Bred in Kentucky by Allen and White Birch Farm, Siege of Boston, out of the Group 2-winning Sadler’s Wells mare Peinture Rare, boasts a lifetime record of 19-3-6-6 with $496,211 in earnings. Hall of Famer Joel Rosario will ride from post 6.

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G2-winner Gun Song returns to work tab at Belmont Park

R. Lee Lewis’ Grade 1-winner Gun Song returned to the work tab Friday at Belmont Park with a half-mile breeze in 49 seconds flat over the dirt training track. The work was her first since finishing a brave second to multiple Grade 1-winner Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Cotillion on September 21 at Parx Racing.

Trainer Mark Hennig said he was pleased with the work from the talented chestnut, and that her next target will likely be the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose on October 26 here rather than the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff on November 2 at Del Mar.

“She worked well, and it was a nice maintenance move,” said Hennig. “We were real happy with the way she finished and as of now we’re pointing to the Mother Goose unless there’s some fallout from the Breeders’ Cup Distaff unexpectedly.”

The daughter of Gun Runner stalked one length off the pace in the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion and pounced to a half-length advantage at the stretch call. She dug in gamely under Hall of Famer John Velazquez and fought to the wire but could not fend off Thorpedo Anna and was defeated a neck to earn her first Grade 1 placing. She was awarded a career-best 93 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“I was just real proud of her and her effort,” Hennig said. “She’s doing what we kind of thought she would and improved, and hopefully she’ll have a big year next year.”

Gun Song has made eight starts this year, including an optional-claiming win in February at Gulfstream Park, her first graded score in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan in May at Pimlico Race Course, and capturing the Cathryn Sophia in August at Parx. She was also a narrowly-beaten second in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks in July at its namesake oval.

Hennig added Gun Song is blossoming into the kind of competitor she appeared to be early on.

“She won first out and seemed like a filly that was looking to run longer, even though she’s out of a sprint mare,” Hennig said. “She matured nicely and has made a nice progression.”

Gun Song, out of the graded stakes-winning Mr. Greeley mare Nicole H, was a $400,000 purchase at the 2023 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. She has banked $674,340 through a 10-4-3-1 record.

Hennig has plenty to look forward to with talented juvenile filly Wild Mama, who graduated in her September 15 debut sprinting six furlongs here. She stalked the pace a close third under Velazquez and kicked clear to a six-length advantage at the stretch call before drifting in greenly in the stretch. Despite the meandering, the daughter of American Pharoah crossed the wire two lengths the best in a final time of 1:13.47. She was awarded a 68 Beyer.

“We were expecting a big effort from her, and I thought she got a little lost mid-stretch looking around,” Hennig said. “We’ve toyed with the idea of blinkers for a long time with her because she’s just always looking around, but she does things relatively easy, so she has the luxury to do that. As the competition steps up, you can’t make those kinds of mistakes. We’re going to leave it alone for now, but down the road we might put on some blinkers to hold her attention.”

Wild Mama, who is campaigned by R. Lee Lewis, Ryan Lewis and Anthony Lewis, is nominated to the Listed $150,000 Chelsey Flower traveling 1 1/16 miles over turf on October 20 but will likely be pointed to the $150,000 Tempted going one mile on dirt on November 2 instead.

“We may enter her as a main track-only in the Chelsey Flower, but we’re leaning towards the Tempted at this point,” Hennig said.

The $380,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Safwah, a half-sister to Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner Always Dreaming, Grade 2-winner Positive Spirit and Grade 1-winner and producer Hot Dixie Chick.

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