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Art Collector, Thousand Words Breeze At Churchill Downs

Bruce Lunsford's Blue Grass Stakes (Grade II) winner Art Collector and Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm's multiple graded stakes winner Thousand Words logged their final breezes Saturday morning at Churchill Downs prior to competing in the $1-million Preakness Stakes (G1) in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 3 – the third jewel of the 2020 Triple Crown.

Art Collector, with Brian Hernandez Jr. in the saddle, worked a half-mile in :48 while Thousand Words and Florent Geroux breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60.

Another possible Preakness contender to work Saturday at Churchill Downs was Peter Callahan's $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) runner-up Swiss Skydiver who went five furlongs in 1:00.80 with Tyler Gaffalione aboard.

Art Collector, the classy 3-year-old son of Bernardini, was the seventh fastest of 78 horses at the distance Saturday and worked through fractions of :12.40, :24.40, :35.80 and :48. The five-time winner galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.60.

Thousand Words, who was scratched from the Kentucky Derby (G1) after he flipped in the paddock, worked with blinkers on through fractions of :11.80, :24.40 and :48.20. He completed his work with a six-furlong gallop out time of 1:13.60.

“I thought he worked a lot better today with blinkers,” Geroux said. “Last week was his first work over the track so he didn't wear them but went very easy. It was a bit more of a serious work today.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is scheduled to arrive in Louisville on Sunday for Kentucky Derby winner and fellow Preakness contender Authentic's work on Monday.

Also working Saturday morning was possible Preakness Stakes contender Swiss Skydiver who completed early fractions of :12, :23.60 and :35.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:15.20. Swiss Skydiver's Preakness Stakes status remains in question, according to trainer Kenny McPeek.

In total, there are seven possible Preakness Stakes contenders based at Churchill Downs. They are scheduled to leave Louisville and fly to Baltimore on Tuesday. The locally based Preakness contenders are (with trainer): Art Collector (Drury), Authentic (Baffert), Excession (Steve Asmussen), Max Player (Asmussen), Mr. Big News (Bret Calhoun), Swiss Skydiver (Kenny McPeek), and Thousand Words (Baffert).

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Preakness Hopefuls Tune Up

A trio of candidates for the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Oct. 3 turned in their final serious moves Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

Bruce Lunsford’s Art Collector (Bernardini), who was forced to miss the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby owing to a minor foot injury, tuned up for the final leg of this year’s reconstituted Triple Crown by drilling a half-mile in :48 flat with big-race rider Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the saddle. The GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and Runhappy Ellis Park Derby hero was caught in fractions of :12.40, :24.40 and :35.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.60. The half-mile clocking ranked as the seventh-fastest of 78 works at the distance.

“Brian and I discussed it beforehand, and that’s what we were shooting for,” said trainer Tommy Drury about the methodical splits, “I told Brian, ‘He’s a 12s kind of horse. He seems to do that easy enough, so let’s just do what he does easily.’ Kind of textbook: 48, out in a minute. I think they had him three-quarters (of a mile) in 1:13. He seems to have bounced out of it well. Now we just stay out of his way for a week.”

“I think he got plenty out of his work last week, so we were just looking for something maintenance this week,” Drury said, “and that’s kind of his maintenance work. Brian was letting him cruise along. I didn’t see that he ever moved his hands. We got exactly what we were looking for.”

With jockey Florent Geroux at the controls and blinkers back on, Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm’s Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) went five furlongs in 1:00.60 in splits of :11.80, :24.40 and :48.20. He, too, was out three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.60. The $1-million Keeneland September yearling purchase was scratched from the Derby after flipping in the paddock.

“We were hoping that he would do something like this,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said from California. “He had to work better than he did last week. Last week, he was just sort of lazy and didn’t get into it, but now he worked really well. This week he was very willing, which is very good. You want to see a horse that is very willing and he was very willing today.”

“I thought he worked a lot better today with blinkers,” Geroux told the Churchill notes team. “Last week was his first work over the track so he didn’t wear them but went very easy. It was a bit more of a serious work today.”

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) breezed five panels in 1:00.80 beneath Tyler Gaffalione. The GI Alabama S. winner and recent runner-up in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks clicked off fractions of :12, :23.60 and :35.80 before pulling up six furlongs in 1:15.20. Trainer Ken McPeek later told Daily Racing Form that Swiss Skydiver has been given the green light for the Preakness.

Country Grammer (Tonalist), winner of the GIII Peter Pan S. and fifth-place finisher in the GI Runhappy Travers S., breezed a half-mile in :50.25 Saturday morning at Belmont in preparation for a scheduled Preakness start.

Liveyourbeastlife (Ghostzapper), runner-up in the GII Jim Dandy S., worked six furlongs in 1:16.20 at Belmont.

“He had a nice maintenance breeze this morning; nice and steady. I wasn’t looking for anything crazy,” trainer Jorge Abreu said.

Jesus’s Team (Tapiture), third in the Jim Dandy S., breezed five furlongs in 1:03.40 at Monmouth Park Saturday morning in preparation of the Preakness.

Undefeated Federico Tesio S. winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Happy Saver (Super Saver) and GI Belmont S. runner-up Dr Post (Quality Road) will both bypass the Preakness. Trainer Todd Pletcher said the former will target the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.

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Tiz The Law Posts ‘Nice, Easy’ First Breeze Since Finishing Second In Kentucky Derby

Sackatoga Stable's four-time Grade 1 winner Tiz the Law was back to work on Friday morning to record his first breeze since finishing second in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on September 5 at Churchill Downs with a half-mile work over a fast main track at Belmont Park.

Under mostly sunny skies, the 3-year-old son of Constitution covered four furlongs in 50.07 seconds with regular exercise rider Heather Smullen aboard.

“It was a nice, easy work,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. “I wasn't looking for much. I just wanted him to go out there and stretch his legs. He hadn't done anything in three weeks.”

Prior to his last-out second in the Kentucky Derby, where he finished 1 1/4-lengths back to Authentic, Tiz the Law had won his prior four starts this season in dominant fashion taking the Grade 3 Holy Bull and Grade 1 Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream Park, before a sensational 3 ¾-length victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20 ahead of a 5 ½-length romp in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers on August 8 at Saratoga.

During his 2-year-old season, Tiz the Law won the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park in his second start after besting fellow New York-breds in his career debut at Saratoga.

The connections of Tiz the Law opted to bypass the Grade 1 Preakness on October 3 at Pimlico, and instead will train up to the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 7 at Keeneland, where he will face older horses for the first time. He will attempt to become the 13th 3-year-old to score a victory in the Classic.

Bred in the Empire State by Twin Creeks Farm, Tiz the Law is out of the graded stakes winning Tiznow mare Tizfiz and was purchased for $110,000 from the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale of New York-breds.

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Warrior’s Charge Headlines Ack Ack

GIII Razorback H. victor Warrior’s Charge (Munnings) headlines a full field in Saturday’s GIII Ack Ack S. at Churchill Downs. Kicking off this term with his first black-type score in the Razorback, the dark bay was second to recent GII Alysheba S. winner By My Standards (Goldencents) in the GII Oaklawn H. May 2. Fourth in the GI Met Mile July 4, he crossed the line second in the GIII Phillip Iselin S. last time at Monmouth, but was promoted to first when the winner was DQ’d Aug. 22.

Ebben (Trappe Shot) takes a step back up to black-type company on a hot streak. Winning while in for a $50,000 tag at Churchill June 13, the gelding scored a decisive optional claimer score at Ellis July 19 and won over this track and trip Sept. 2.

American Anthem (Bodemeister) was purchased by Don Tiger for $145,000 last November at Keeneland and turned over to Danny Gargan. Fourth in the GIII Toboggan S. Jan. 18, he was second in the Stymie S. Mar. 7 and was third in the GI Carter H. June 6. The bay was transferred to Mike Maker, who tried him on turf and found out it was not his preferred surface as the 6-year-old never fired, finishing 11th in the GIII Kentucky Downs Turf Sprint S. Sept. 12.

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