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Tiz the Law to Return in Pegasus, Perhaps With a New Jockey

A rarity in the modern era for a top-class 3-year-old, Tiz the Law (Constitution) will race again next year and is being pointed for the GI Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park. But who will be aboard him that day? It appears the answer is not Manny Franco.

After trainer Barclay Tagg criticized Franco’s ride in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, Jack Knowlton, the managing partner of Sackatoga Stable, echoed those sentiments Tuesday. When asked if there would be a jockey change, Knowlton said it is under consideration.

Franco has become a top jockey on the New York circuit and has ridden Tiz the Law in all but his first start. But he is short on experience when it comes to major races. Tagg was disappointed that Franco wasn’t immediately able to get Tiz the Law off the rail in the Classic and that he didn’t go after Authentic (Into Mischief) more aggressively in the early part of the race. After breaking sharply, Tiz the Law settled into fifth before finishing sixth. The first time in his career he has finished out of the money, Tiz the Law was beaten 5 1/2 lengths.

“I don’t think any of us were pleased with his ride,” Knowlton said. “I was in the paddock when Barclay talked to Manny and gave him his instructions, how he wanted to see him ride him and where he wanted him to put the horse in the race. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”

Will Franco lose the mount?

“I think that’s certainly on the table,” Knowlton said. “We’re not just looking at the Classic but looking at next year, looking at the potential of where we may run. There are places like Del Mar and Oaklawn and those are places where Manny’s never raced or certainly not ridden at to a high degree at all. That’s a factor as you look ahead. We know we’ve got one more year and we have a pretty good idea of where we are going to run. We had a great year with him, but you have to look forward and try to figure out what’s best for the horse going forward. The discussion of who is going to ride is one that Barclay, (assistant trainer) Robin (Smullen) and I have already begun.”

Knowlton said that Tiz the Law does not like to run inside of horses.

“We had a hell of a streak and then we got the two post in the Classic and lot of people said, ‘Uh oh, this is trouble’ because he wants to be outside of horses,” Knowlton said. “Unfortunately, it played out that way. Did it have to play out as badly as it did? I don’t think so. I don’t really think with the best of trips we were going to beat Authentic. He got a lot better.”

In June, Knowlton finalized an agreement with Coolmore America to stand Tiz the Law at stud. It stipulated that Sackatoga would make all racing decisions before he was retired and that it had the option of racing him as 4-year-old.

“When we had discussions with outfits that were interested in pursuing Tiz as a stallion I drew two lines in the sand,” Knowlton said. “One was no racing rights were for sale and, secondly, he had to be able to run through his 4-year-old year, as long as he was healthy and sound and running at a high level.”

Knowlton said that giving his partners another chance to cheer on Tiz the Law as a 4-year-old was among the reasons he is bringing the horse back.

“For 33 out of 35 partners this is the horse of a lifetime,” he said. “Lew Titterton and I had the experience of Funny Cide winning the Derby, the Preakness and almost winning the Triple Crown, doing things on a big stage and having a great horse. Thirty-three other people have never had this opportunity and, in all likelihood, never will again. I think it’s great for the sport to bring him back. It is unfortunate that so many of the good 3-year-olds don’t get a chance to run as 4-year-olds and then are forgotten. Because Funny Cide was a gelding we had the wonderful opportunity as Sackatoga owners to enjoy this horse basically for six years, from his 2-year-old to 7-year-old year. We are trying to do something that is good for the game and something I wanted to make happen.”

Knowlton said the Pegasus at Gulfstream will be next and that Tiz the Law will not have a prep for that race. He said other races on Tiz the Law’s tentative schedule are the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the GI Whitney S. and the Oaklawn H. He said there is an outside shot he will run in the G1 Dubai World Cup.

The $20-million Saudi Cup, he said, is not under consideration.

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Classic: ‘Disappointed,’ ‘Shocked’ Knowlton Sets Pegasus As Early-Season Goal For Tiz The Law

Sackatoga Stable's 3-year-old Constitution colt Tiz the Law, a well-beaten sixth in Saturday's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., was fine Sunday morning trainer Barclay Tagg said.

Sent off as the 3-1 favorite from post two, Tiz the Law was stuck on the inside under jockey Manny Franco and never mounted a serious challenge to Authentic, who had beaten him by 1 ¼ lengths in the Kentucky Derby.

“(Franco) said he was rank on him,” Tagg said, before leaving for Florida early Sunday morning. “The winner was rank and he should have just followed him around. I had him ready to run, but I can't ride for them.”

Tiz the Law's connections had recognized that having to start close to the rail might present a problem for the New York-bred. The Classic was the worst performance of Tiz the Law's career and the first time he did not finish in the top three.

“Obviously, we were disappointed and kind of shocked that he didn't end up better than he did,” Sackatoga's operating manager Jack Knowlton said. “An inside trip was a concern. There were a lot of people when they saw the draw automatically said, 'that's a problem for this horse.' When you are in the two-hole it's awful hard to put yourself in a place where you can get outside of horses. Maybe that's the story. I don't think being on the rail was the ideal place.

“You're not going to get what you want every time if they are in enough races. I guess it was our turn to not get the good trip. We won three Grade 1s and were second in the biggest race for 3-year-olds and he had the trip every time.”

Knowlton said Tiz the Law will be shipped to Tagg's barn at the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida on Wednesday. The goal is to have him ready for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park.

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Kirkpatrick & Co Presents In Their Care: Smullen Is The Glue That Holds Tagg Operation Together

Robin Smullen was 17 years old when she was preparing Barnabas, her finest horse, for a show. He was as responsive as ever to her cues – until he could respond no longer.

Barnabas collapsed beneath Smullen due to an aneurysm. Nothing could be done except to comfort him. He died in the arms of a teenager with whom he had enjoyed such a wonderful connection, his head nestled in her lap.

Smullen was devastated. She remained in her bedroom at her family's Oxford, Pa., farm for three days. She sold her three or four remaining show horses. She did not know how she would go on.

“At that point, I was thinking I wanted to give up on horses completely,” she said.

She soon realized how strong a hold horses can have on someone who had been around them for as long as she could remember. There is a pull that is undeniable. And perhaps inescapable.

“I was born into horses. That is all I ever knew,” said Smullen. “A lot of people who get into horses and leave, they always come back.”

Come back she did, and Thoroughbred racing is so much better for that. As an assistant to Barclay Tagg and his life partner, Smullen has been instrumental in the development of a pair of outstanding New York-bred 3-year-olds for modest Sackatoga Stable.

The gelded Funny Cide swept the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003. Tiz the Law looms as a prime contender in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Keeneland Race Course. He could emerge as Horse of the Year if he adds his first test against older horses to his authoritative Florida Derby, Belmont and Travers triumphs.

Smullen aboard Funny Cide. Photo courtesy Robin Smullen

“Robin is really the glue that holds Barclay Tagg Racing Stable together,” said Jack Knowlton, who has overseen Sackatoga since he established it with five high school friends in 1995.

Tagg and Smullen have shown they can accomplish a lot with relatively little. Funny Cide was purchased privately for the comparatively meager sum of $75,000 as a 2-year-old in training. Tagg made a winning bid of $110,000 to bring home Tiz the Law as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's 2018 Saratoga Sale.

Smullen is proud of the keen eyes they bring to sales.

“We've picked out so many good horses and people don't realize,” she said. “A lot of people could have bought Funny Cide, but we did. You can't see that he's going to win the Derby, but you can see that a horse can run.”

Confrontation, a $35,000 purchase as a 2-year-old, and Realm, a $75,000 yearling, provide two more examples of diamonds in the rough that the tag team of Tagg and Smullen discovered. Each horse surpassed half a million dollars in earnings.

Smullen has been aboard tractable Tiz the Law throughout his development, just as she was the headstrong Funny Cide. When she talks, Knowlton and Tagg listen.

“That is invaluable to have somebody with her knowledge,” Knowlton said. “If there is one little thing that is maybe bothering him, she'll identify it. She may know what it is or, if not, she will work with the veterinarian or the blacksmith or the chiropractor or the masseuse.”

When Smullen detected upper body stiffness in Tiz the Law following his loss to Authentic in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, she showed her unwavering commitment to always putting the horse first by urging that the colt skip the $1 million Preakness, the final leg of this year's Triple Crown due to the pandemic. Knowlton abided by that advice. He also was on board when she and Tagg opposed shipping the colt across the country to Santa Anita for last year's Juvenile despite a fees-paid berth in the demanding $2 million race courtesy of a Champagne romp.

Smullen and Tagg have long enjoyed a relationship most couples would envy.

“We went to dinner,” Tagg likes to say, “and she never left.”

One of the keys to their staying power is their ability to leave work behind once long days at the barn and the track are done. They currently oversee approximately 20 horses.

“The good part about Barclay is he leaves the barn at the barn and then home is home,” Smullen said. “If you don't get along with the way you make a decision on a certain horse or a certain race, you leave that at the barn.”

Doswell, a quirky 5-year-old that is fairly new to their stable, represents a constant source of disagreement.

“He's a little bit of a head case, but I try to get along with him and compromise on things,” said Smullen. She gallops Doswell each morning; she is the one aboard for his antics once his training is done. Tagg would like to see the veteran walk back to the barn. The gelded son of Giant's Causeway, bred and owned by Joseph Allen, has other ideas.

“He doesn't like to walk off the track,” Smullen said. “He's jigging and carrying on the whole time, so I just jog him home.”

Although Tagg is routinely dismayed by that unusual sight, Smullen's willingness to live with that idiosyncrasy appears to be reaping rewards. After going winless through his first five career starts, Doswell is perfect in two turf starts for Tagg and Smullen. He led at every call when he finally broke his maiden on Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course. He displayed the same front-running command in capturing an allowance race on Oct. 2 at Belmont Park.

With each of those victories, Smullen is reminded of the rewards that working with horses can bring. And she is grateful she persevered long after the beloved Barnabas took his last breath.

Tom Pedulla wrote for USA Today from 1995-2012 and has been a contributor to the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Blood-Horse, America's Best Racing and other publications.

If you wish to suggest a backstretch worker as a potential subject for In Their Care, please send an email to info@paulickreport.com that includes the person's name and contact information in addition to a brief description of the employee's background.

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Tiz the Law Returns to Worktab

Sackatoga Stables’ Tiz the Law (Constitution) returned to the worktab for the first time since finishing second to Authentic (Into Mischief) as the favorite in the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby, breezing a half-mile in an easy :50.07 with regular exercise rider Heather Smullen in the irons.

“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 hard-trying runner-up effort in the Derby, the New York-bred had been perfect in four starts at three, including the GI Curlin Florida Derby, the GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. Earlier this week, Sackatoga’s Jack Knowlton announced that Tiz the Law would give the Oct. 3 GI Preakness S. a miss and that the colt would be trained up to his first try against older horses in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 7.

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