Triple Crown | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Everything Was Good’: Tiz The Law Breezes In Advance of Runhappy Travers On Aug. 8

Sackatoga Stable's Grade 1 Belmont Stakes champ Tiz the Law, bred in New York by Twin Creeks Farm, breezed five furlongs in 59.63 seconds Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Spring, N.Y., in preparation for the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers, a 1 1/4-mile test for sophomores, on August 8.

Tiz the Law visited the main track at 8:45 a.m. under mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s. The Constitution bay, working solo under exercise rider Heather Smullen, breezed through splits of 24.40, 35.60 and galloped out three-quarters in 1:12.84 over a fast main track.

Trainer Barclay Tagg, on track to oversee the breeze, said he liked what he saw.

“I thought the work was good. He did it just right. The time was good. Everything was good,” Tagg said.

Tiz the Law will breeze twice more ahead of the Runhappy Travers, which offers 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

“He came out nice and strong,” said Sackatoga Stables operations manager Jack Knowlton. “Obviously the new racetrack was no impediment for him, so it's just one more step. We've got three weeks from today. He'll have two more works and then we're ready to go. You can see how fit he is.”

A winner at first asking in August at Saratoga, Tiz the Law followed up with a four-length score in the Grade 1 Champagne in October at Belmont. He completed his juvenile campaign with a close third in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club, contested on a sloppy strip at Churchill Downs.

Tiz the Law wintered at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Fla., and opened his sophomore season at Gulfstream Park with a three-length score in the Grade 3 Holy Bull in February. He then dominated the nine-furlong Grade 1 Florida Derby by 4 1/4 lengths on March 28.

Last out, Tiz the Law captured the first leg of the revised Triple Crown when 3 ¾-lengths the best in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Stakes.

Tagg and Sackatoga Stable traveled the Triple Crown road in 2003 with New York-bred in Funny Cide. The Distorted Humor chestnut prevailed by 1 3/4-lengths in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby under jockey Jose Santos. He followed up with a 9 3/4-length score in the Grade 1 Preakness, but finished third in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes after setting the early pace in his Triple Crown bid.

Knowlton said he relishes the opportunity to run Tiz the Law in the Runhappy Travers, especially since Funny Cide was scratched from the 2003 Travers.

“There's nothing like the Derby, but obviously we would like to win the race that Funny Cide didn't have a chance to run in,” Knowlton said. “Hopefully this will be a stepping stone to success in Kentucky. We're on a nice roll. We won a Classic, we won two other Grade 1s, and we won three out of three this year, so four out of four going into the Derby would be great.”

Tiz the Law, who leads all contenders with 272 Derby qualifying points, will contest a unique Triple Crown scenario that will continue with the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, rescheduled from Saturday, May 2, to Saturday, September 5, as the second leg of the Classic series. The Grade 1 Preakness, originally slated for May 16, will close out the Triple Crown on October 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

The Runhappy Travers Day card is headlined by the “Mid-Summer Derby” for the country's most talented 3-year-olds and is one of three Grade 1s on the day, joining the $300,000 Ballerina for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going seven furlongs in a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

The day will also see sophomore fillies compete in the prestigious Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Test at seven furlongs, with the card bolstered by the Grade 3, $200,000 Troy, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for older males, and the Grade 3, $150,000 Waya , a 1 1/2-mile turf route for older fillies and mares.

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Kentucky Derby Consignor Standings Presented By Keeneland: Swiss Skydiver Defied Conventional Auction Wisdom To Succeed

When Swiss Skydiver won the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes earlier this year, Elliott Walden of breeder WinStar Farm sent out a tweet noting that the filly had lucencies in her condyles as a yearling that put a defined ceiling on her commercial value when she was sold as a yearling.

That story was all too familiar in the history of the Select Sales consignment, which famously sold a long list of high-level runners that started with minor dings on their vet reports during the company's operation from 2009 to 2020.

After Swiss Skydiver jumped into the deep end to test colts in the G2 Blue Grass Stakes, and nearly pulled it off with a gritty second to Art Collector, former Select Sales partner Carrie Brogden said it was just another example of physical presence and patience winning out.

“When we originally looked at our group, when WinStar decides which horses we're going to get the chance to sell, she was originally slated for our [Fasig-Tipton] July consignment,” Brogden said. “The first time I saw her, she was this big-bodied, strong filly, and that's when David [Hanley, WinStar general manager] said, 'We're actually not putting her in your July consignment. We're gonna have to push her back to September because of the x-rays.”

The first-crop Daredevil filly's trouble passing the vet took her from a sale for early-bloomers to Book 4 of the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where she was offered as Hip 2997.

Swiss Skydiver drew the attention of trainer Kenny McPeek, who has staked much of his career on finding diamonds in the rough at auction by knowing what items on a vet report can be forgiven and outgrown.

“Kenny is one of the best of the best in my opinion for knowing what things he can deal with x-ray wise, and what he can't,” Brogden said. “I think that's why he gets so many bargains, because he has a very good hold – much more so than most of the trainers that I deal with – on what works and what doesn't work.

“Anytime you have stuff written on the stifles or knees, you have a lot of people who don't have a lot of experience with that,” she continued. “If people see stuff in the stifles or knees, they always get scared. When [Swiss Skydiver] was in the back ring, she stuck out as a physical filly, but even if she had 15 repository checks, it's not like a lot of them would be passing her.”

McPeek landed the winning bid on the filly for $35,000, and she'd go on to run for owner Peter Callahan.

The price obviously seems like a bargain now for a multiple Grade 2 winner and earner of $677,980, much less one that can hang with her male counterparts. The filly's transaction was just above the session's median sale price of $32,000, but both sides of the exchange knew the trainer likely got a deal.

Education efforts are starting to sink in that a clean yearling vet report isn't the only path to finding a successful runner at auction. The stories of horses that became champions with dings on their reports has become too long to deny, and Brogden adamantly drove that point home when it comes to assessing the next class of hopefuls.

“If a horse goes from a clean-vetting horse to a 'non-vetter,' the discount for risk, if they're still a great physical, is built into the price,” she said. “The discount to cover that risk is built-in, so instead of paying $100,000 for a yearling and having the same training bills, the discount's there.

“If you only want Ferraris, those are going to be different buyers. But, if you have people that are willing to buy a Ferrari with maybe a dent in the bumper at a 70 percent discount, it drives the same,” Brogden continued. “It's what we see all the time.”

McPeek said Swiss Skydiver is likely to target the Kentucky Oaks despite her solid showing against the boys, but the Kentucky Derby qualifying points she earned for her Blue Grass effort has put Select Sales in fourth place on the Derby Consignor Standings list.

Joining Swiss Skydiver among Select's graduates with Derby points are Belmont Stakes runner-up Dr Post (second choice on the morning line in Saturday's G1 Haskell), multiple Grade 1-placed Gouverneur Morris, and Remington Springboard Mile Stakes winner Shoplifted.

Success of that caliber is something to be celebrated, but it won't serve to build the consignment's reputation. The partners of Select Sales announced in February that the consignment would be disbanded, ending an 11-year run that saw the operation handle the likes of champion Tepin, Pegasus World Cup winner Mucho Gusto, and Grade/Group 1 winners Dream Tree, Mind Your Biscuits, Gift Box, Promises Fulfilled, and Twilight Eclipse.

Brogden will remain in the consignment arena at the upcoming yearling sales, selling under the Machmer Hall Sales banner. She'll be joined by fellow Select partners Amy Bunt and Tom and Michelle Mullikin. Among Select's other partners, Andrew Cary founded Cary Bloodstock to serve clients as an agent and advisor, while Jay Goodwin joined Eaton Sales as an account manager.

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Travers ‘The Logical Spot’ For Peter Pan Winner Country Grammer

Following a victory in Opening Day's Grade 3 Peter Pan at Saratoga Race Course, Country Grammer is a likely candidate for the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on August 8, according to his connections.

Owned by Paul Pompa, Jr. and trained by Chad Brown, the 3-year-old son of second crop sire Tonalist notched his first graded stakes score in the 1 1/8-mile event for sophomores over the main track. Guided by Irad Ortiz, Jr., Country Grammer broke sharply from post 2, tracked in fourth off a moderate pace, found an opening along the rail around the far turn and established command at the top of the stretch holding off Caracaro to win by a neck, registering a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.

“If he comes back well, the Travers would be the logical spot. It's coming back a little soon but so far, so good,” Pompa, Jr. said. “We always have liked this horse, but the COVID-19 situation has created gaps, just due to lack of racing.”

Country Grammer arrived at the Peter Pan off a third-place finish against allowance company at Belmont Park, running 6 ½ lengths to eventual Belmont Stakes fifth-place finisher Tap It To Win. After a fourth place finish in his career debut on grass, he switched to the main track, breaking his maiden by 3 ½ lengths at Aqueduct going the Peter Pan distance.

Pompa, Jr. said the 1 1/4-mile Runhappy Travers should suit Country Grammer.

“Chad always liked him, but he never trained well at Belmont for some reason,” said Pompa, Jr. “We knew he would appreciate going two turns. Should we go to the Travers, we think the extra eighth of a mile is to his advantage.”

Country Grammer, bred in Kentucky by Scott Pierce and Debbie Pierce, is out of the Forestry broodmare Arabian Song and his third dam Willstar produced Group 1 winner on turf Etoile Montante. He was purchased for $450,000 at the OBS April Sale in 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, where he was consigned by Wavertree Stables.

Should Country Grammer move forward to the Runhappy Travers, he would be Pompa Jr.'s second contender in the “Mid Summer Derby”. In 2016, he owned sixth-place finisher Connect, who went on to defeat that year's Kentucky Derby top three finishers in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby en route to a Grade 1 Cigar Mile triumph.

“He beat a real tough field in the Pennsylvania Derby that year,” Pompa, Jr. said. “There were a lot of serious horses in the race that year and it was the first year they made it a Grade 1. Exaggerator, Nyquist and Gun Runner were all in there, so he beat a really nice field.”

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Brisnet.com Triple Crown Throwdown: Haskell

Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN’s Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins.

DeRosa – Peter Pan Result – Country Grammer got the money in game fashion. Bankroll: $4960.

GI Haskell S. – Going to take a chance here with Jesus’ Team, who is right in the mix with all other contenders based on most recent form and maybe can find improvement going 1 1/8 miles first time. I love what his sire Tapiture has done from limited opportunities and at the price point, and maybe Jesus’ Team can be that sire’s breakout horse. Authentic took a step back last out and Dr. Post likely underlaid as the obvious alternative to favorite. Selection: #3 Jesus’ Team (15-1).

Sherack – Peter Pan Result – Mystic Guide could do no better than third as the chalk. Bankroll: $3135.

GI Haskell S. – I really need a bomb to get back in this thing, but this isn’t the race for it. Even with all the speed signed on, Authentic should still be awfully tough to beat for Mr. Haskell, Bob Baffert. Selection: #2 Authentic (4-5).

DiDonato – Peter Pan Result – Country Grammer (+$750) needed a busy ride, but he saved all the ground and fought on nicely to get the job done. Bankroll: $5125.

GI Haskell S. – I’ve been high on Dr Post for a while, and picked him in the Belmont. He took another step forward that day to be second, and catches an easier group this time while likely to get a huge pace set-up. There’s tons of other speed signed on here, which figures to compromise favorite Authentic’s chances as much as it’s going to help Dr Post. Barring some scratches, bad breaks or odd tactics, Dr Post will win this race. Selection: #1 Dr Post (5-2).

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