Tag: Tyler’s Tribe

Flightline Heads BC Breezers Saturday

Unbeaten sensation Flightline (Tapit) headed a bevy of Breeders' Cup workers across the country Saturday. The likely favorite for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic covered six furlongs at Santa Anita in 1:11.80 (1/3).

Flightline entered the main track via the quarter-mile chute with John Sadler assistant Juan Leyva aboard just prior to 6:35 a.m. Accompanied by a stable pony, he galloped under the wire and around the clubhouse turn and was set down approaching the five-furlong pole.

From there, he clicked off splits of :23.60, :35.40, :47.80 and :59.40 en route to the seven-furlong pole, where he stopped the clock for six furlongs in 1:11.80. Clocker Gary Young had the 'TDN Rising Star' galloping out seven furlongs in 1:24.80 and one mile in 1:38.60.

“Perfect,” said Sadler, who noted that Flightline will have his final Santa Anita work next Saturday, Oct. 22. “It was another routine work from him. He always works the same and we're not looking to do anything different from what we've been doing. As you saw, he went six [furlongs] in :12, out [seven-eighths] in :24 and a mile in :38 and three. Just a nice steady work pattern.”

He continued, “All's good. That's him, that's the way he works. He'll have one more here and then he goes to Keeneland after his next work. He'll have one work over there.”

Flightline is expected to ship to Lexington a week from Sunday, Oct. 23.

Among the many Breeders' Cup hopefuls who stretched their legs at Keeneland Saturday were:

  • Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), last seen taking a controversial renewal of the GII Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Oct. 1, had his first work back at Keeneland Saturday morning as he points for the Breeders' Cup Classic. The Doug O'Neill pupil was clocked in :49.40 (47/80) under Tyler Gaffalione, who was reunited with the $5.5-million earner last out for the first time since they finished second together in the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at 94-1 over the same strip. “It was a good, relaxed work,” Gaffalione said. “He went well within himself. I'm very happy right now. He's in a great mindset.” The leading Kentucky-based rider added, “He's grown up a lot [since the Juvenile]. He's much bigger, much more powerful and much more mature. Right now, it seems like he's the complete package.”

  • Rich Strike (Keen Ice), the GI Kentucky Derby upsetter who came up a head short of Hot Rod Charlie in the Lukas despite leaning on his rival, also got back to work Saturday. The chestnut, who could go in the Classic or wait for the Nov. 25 GI Clark S. at his favorite track, Churchill Downs, covered a half-mile in Lexington Saturday in :47.60 (4/80) first thing in the morning. He galloped out five panels in 1:00 flat. “I didn't think that I'd get nervous for only a maintenance work,” trainer Eric Reed admitted. “I was hoping for :48 or :49, but he was doing it so easy and as long as he wasn't fighting him, I was good with that. He handled the track well and whatever decision we make, he'll be ready to run.” Of what will go into that next race call, Reed said, “The decision would be easier if the Breeders' Cup was at Churchill Downs and there wasn't a Flightline. And it is not only Flightline, but there is Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Olympiad (Speightstown) and Epicenter (Not This Time).”
  • Leading conditioner Chad Brown sent out a number of Breeders' Cup-bound workers at Keeneland Saturday, including 'Rising Star' Jack Christopher (Munnings, GI Sprint or GI Dirt Mile, 1:00 {1/67}); Search Results (Flatter, GI Distaff, 1:00.60 {5/67}); Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper, GI F/M Sprint, 1:00.60 {5/67}); and Blazing Sevens (Good Magic, GI Juvenile, :48.60, {21/80}). Jack Christopher's work came in company with fellow stakes-winning sophomore Artorius (Arrogate), who is expected to contest next Saturday's Perryville S. Last-out GI Champagne S. hero Blazing Sevens worked in company with GII Pilgrim S. runner-up and fellow 'Rising Star' I'm Very Busy (Cloud Computing), who is pointing for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. “Everything was smooth this morning,” Brown said. “All of the horses have settled in nicely.”

  • Unbeaten Iowa-bred Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) tested out turf for the first time on Saturday, working three furlongs on the Keeneland lawn in :39.80 (1/1) ahead of a likely start in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The dark bay gelding has won his five starts, all at Prairie Meadows, by almost 60 lengths combined. Tyler Tribe's regular rider Kylee Jordan, who lost her bug earlier this season, was aboard for the work. “Kylee was comfortable with him out there,” trainer Tim Martin said. “I was a little concerned when he bobbled a bit, but he was trying to jump the cones [on the course that were set up near the outer rail]. Maybe he has a future as a jumper.” Martin said he was not at all concerned about the slow time: “He always works in :38 or :39. If he gets with another horse, he'll work a bullet. I know he is a fast horse and I know he can run.”

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Martin, Trainer of Tyler’s Tribe, Joins Writers’ Room Podcast

The 2-year-old gelding Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) is the fastest horse in Iowa–maybe the fastest horse ever to come out of the Hawkeye State–and has won his five career starters by a combined 59 3/4 lengths. But does that make him good enough to win a Breeders' Cup race? The Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland was his co-owner and trainer Tim Martin, and when the big event rolls around, he'll be going into the race with confidence.

“For me, it's going to be different, that's for sure,” he said. “I've never had a horse who can run at this level. I'm only doing this because of this horse. I never wanted to just go to the Breeders' Cup. I only wanted to go if I had a legitimate shot. This is a really nice horse, and I think we have a shot. He's fast. He just gallops when everyone else is running. I know there will be some really good horses in there, but we don't know what we've got because no one has ever challenged him.”

How good is Tyler's Tribe, who is an Iowa-bred?

“We just don't know,” he said. “Every time the rider [Prairie Meadows' leading jockey Kylee Jordan] rides him, she comes back and tells us she had more horse, that she wasn't even asking him to run. Every time she says he had more left. So I don't know how fast he could go. He runs with them and then when they get to the lane he just takes off.”

Martin said it's likely that Tyler's Tribe will run in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. He has never run on the grass, but Martin doesn't believe the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a good fit because his horse has never run beyond six furlongs.

“I'm leaning toward the short race,” he said of the 5 1/2-furlong heat. “If I were going to experiment with him, I would have liked to do it before a big race. I know he's fast. I know he's super fast, so I'm thinking our best chance is the turf race. I think he will like the turf. There is turf in his pedigree. He's got some siblings who have done well on the turf. I know he's fast and that he can run short. Long? I just don't know. It would be hard to stretch him out right now.”

Martin said he and co-owner Tom Lepic have fielded plenty of offers to sell the horse, but have told everyone the answer is no. One of the reasons is a sentimental one. The horse is named after Lepic's grandson, Tyler, whose long battle with leukemia has turned a corner of late.

“I've had some good offers for him,” Martin said. “But I've never had a horse anywhere close to this in my career, and he's named after Tyler. We never wanted to sell him and it doesn't matter what the offers have been. We had a couple offers for $500,000. They could have offered $1 million. We still wouldn't be interested. He's not for sale. We're having fun and I've always said you can't put a price on fun.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, Three Chimneys, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the Writer's Room unveiled its new lineup, which consists of Bill Finley, Randy Moss and Zoe Cadman. The trio went over last week's big races and the controversy surrounding Sonny Leon and his ride aboard Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in the GII Lukas Classic S. and his subsequent suspension. The win by Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in the GI Woodward S. was also part of the discussion, with Moss saying the race may have been better than it looked at first glance. The team also reviewed the GI Awesome Again S., won by Defunded (Dialed In), and Christophe Soumillion's antics in France and looked ahead at this weekend's blockbuster lineup of graded stakes and preps for the Breeders' Cup.

Click here to watch the show or click here for the audio-only version.

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The Breeders’ Cup is Next for Iowa-Bred Sensation Tyler’s Tribe

After another dominating performance, this time in the Iowa Cradle S., the undefeated Iowa-bred gelding Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) will face the stiffest test of his career when going next in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland. Just don't call him an underdog. He's too fast for that.

“We're headed to Kentucky and I think we have a good horse,” said co-owner and trainer Tim Martin. “I know he's been running in Iowa but has been beating them pretty bad over there. He's been pretty amazing.”

The story of the over achieving Iowa-bred began when Martin and co-owner Tom Lepic bought the horse for $34,000 as a yearling at last year's Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association Fall Mixed Sale, not knowing at the time that Sharp Azteca would turn out to be one of the top freshman sires in the country. The hope was to get a productive Iowa-bred, but it was obvious early on that they got much more than just that. Tyler's Tribe, who is named for Lepic's grandson, who has been battling leukemia, won his first four starts by a combined 53 1/4 lengths during a streak that included a gaudy 94 Beyer figure when he beat open company in the Prairie Meadows Freshman S.

He has never run outside of Prairie Meadows, where Martin is third in the trainer's standings. The regular rider is Kylee Jordan, the leading rider at Prairie Meadows who only recently lost her apprentice allowance.

In Saturday's Iowa Cradle, which was restricted to Iowa-breds, Tyler's Tribe, a 1-20 favorite, won by 6 1/2 lengths. It was the smallest winning margin of his five-race career, but he was geared down in the stretch and was never at any point asked for his best.

That wasn't the plan. Martin wanted Tyler's Tribe to gallop out an extra two furlongs after the wire, but with Jordan all but pulling the horse up at the wire it didn't work out.

“She was supposed to go out a mile,” Martin said of Jordan. “I think there was a misunderstanding. She kind of saved him down the lane when I told her to keep riding him so he could go out a mile. She stood up on him and the horse thought he was done. So, I didn't like the gallop out. It wasn't the horse's fault.”

Martin has had his sights set on the Breeders' Cup for a while. The only question was whether or not they would try for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the dirt or the Juvenile Turf at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass. Neither is a perfect fit. Tyler's Tribe has never run on the grass, but neither has he ever run beyond six furlongs. Ultimately, Martin settled on the shorter race and the plan is to arrive at Keeneland on Tuesday so that he can adapt to his surroundings and get a chance to train over the turf course.

“He's a sprinter and I don't know if he's ready to go long yet,” Martin said. “I really think he will like the grass. His pedigree suggests he'll run well on the grass and he's got a sibling or two that has run well on the grass. I wish the race were on dirt because we know he likes the dirt. But at this point in his career I just don't know if he's ready for a mile-and-a-sixteenth race.”

Though Tyler's Tribe has been facing modest competition, he figures to be among the favorites in the Juvenile Turf. If that weren't the case, Martin said he wouldn't be taking the shot that he is.

“I don't want to go to the Breeders' Cup just to go to the Breeder's Cup,” he said. “I want to go when I know I have a shot to win a race or run a really big race. I'm not interested in going just to say that I had a horse in the Breeders' Cup. I think we have the horse to compete. He'll be one of the top horses in his race, He's five-for-five and has done it all easily.”

Martin does think his horse will eventually be able to succeed in two-turn races and hopes to give him that shot next year. But first the Breeders' Cup, where he will take on some of the fastest 2-year-olds on the planet. Is he up to the task? It's a fascinating question, and the answer awaits.

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Another Easy Win For Tyler’s Tribe; BC on the Horizon

It was little more than another high gallop for Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) at Prairie Meadows Saturday evening, as the 'Hammering Hawkeye' took his record to five towering wins from as many appearances against five overmatched foes in the Iowa Cradle S.

The dark bay hit the ground running from his outside berth and had a bit of early pace pressure, but cleared away from that rival, and with Kylee Jordan a mere passenger into the lane, ran out an easy winner. Tyler's Tribe was then asked to gallop out around the turn and into the backstretch, as he is expected to press on to an appearance at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.

Tyler's Tribe has now won his five starts by nearly 60 lengths combined, including an 8 1/2-length romp in the Prairie Gold Juvenile S. in July and a 15 1/2-length tour-de-force when last seen in the Prairie Meadows Freshman S. Aug. 27.

One of 22 winners and one of two stakes winners for his white-hot Three Chimneys-based freshman sire (by Freud), Tyler's Tribe has an Iowa-bred yearling half-brother by Good Samaritan that fetched $15,000 at this year's Keeneland January Sale and his dam was sent to Enticed this past breeding season.

IOWA CRADLE S., $100,000, Prairie Meadows, 10-1, (S), 2yo, c/g, 6f, 1:09.74, ft.
1–TYLER'S TRIBE, 122, g, 2, by Sharp Azteca
1st Dam: Impazible Woman, by Mission Impazible
2nd Dam: Handlewoman, by Elusive Quality
3rd Dam: Bamboo Queen, by Devil His Due
($34,000 Ylg '21 IOWOCT). O-Timothy E Martin & Thomas D
Lepic; B-Clifton Farm & Derek Merkler (IA); T-Timothy E
Martin; J-Kylee R Jordan. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-5-0-0,
$306,294.
2–Big Luke, 122, g, 2, Tapiture–Warmhearted Sandy, by Say
Florida Sandy. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O/B-Big Pine LLC (IA); T-Kelly R
Von Hemel. $20,000.
3–Palace Guard, 122, g, 2, Palace Malice–Addy Annie, by Posse.
($12,000 Ylg '21 IOWOCT). 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O-Kent Bamford
& Randy Patterson; B-MAMAS Thoroughbreds LLC (IA);
T-Tyrone Gleason. $10,000.
Margins: 6HF, NO, 3 1/4. Odds: 0.05, 22.90, 36.40.
Also Ran: Acceleritas, C R Insta Gator, I Love Rocknstroll.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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