To win the Triple Crown, Tiz the Law will have to withstand the test of time
The key number is 105.
That’s the number of days between Saturday’s rescheduled running of the Belmont Stakes and Oct. 3, the date of the rescheduled Preakness at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, with the rescheduled Kentucky Derby set for Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville. In other words, in this crazy coronavirus year, the length of the Triple Crown has gone from 35 to 105.
And Tiz the Law is the only one who can win it. We know that now after Sackatoga Stable’s impressive colt rolled to an impressively easy win in the Belmont, clearing the field for a 3 3/4-length victory in what is (this year) the first of the three classic races.
And besides brilliance, the one characteristic Tiz the Law has shown is that he can handle a layoff. After finishing third in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs last Nov. 30, the son of Constitution did not race again for eight weeks, until the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park on March 3. He won by 3 lengths.
Trainer Barclay Tagg opted to skip the Fountain of Youth and save Tiz off a nine-week layoff for the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28 at Gulfstream. He won by 4 1/4 lengths. It was then 12 more weeks before Saturday’s Belmont, where Tiz became the first New York bred to win the race since Forester in 1882.
At this point, he is clearly the best of the potential Derby field. He has won five of six races, including three Grade 1 races. (Tiz the Law won the Grade 1 Champagne in his second start last year.) His connections know the way. Sackatoga Stable, led by Jack Knowlton, won the 2003 Derby and Preakness with Funny Cide. Tagg, now 82, was Funny Cide’s trainer 17 years ago. Saturday’s Belmont win was sweet for the connections who were so disappointed when Funny Cide ran third in the Belmont won by Empire Maker in 2003.
Plus, the competition has thinned. When COVID-19 moved the Derby to Labor Day, the thought was the field would be filled with more experienced, mature horses. Instead, the opposite has happened. The longer Derby prep trail has given more time for injury. Arkansas Derby division winners Nadal (condylar fracture) and Charlatan (ankle filling), plus Matt Winn winner Maxfield (condylar fracture) and Louisiana Derby winner Wells Bayou (bone bruise) are all out of the Derby picture.
In fact, Tiz the Law’s top competition appears to be on the West Coast in Honor A. P. and Authentic, who ran 1-2 in the Santa Anita Derby on June 6. Trained by Bob Baffert, Authentic is expected to ship east and run in the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 18. Trained by John Shirreffs, Honor A. P. is scheduled to stay in California and run in the Shared Belief on Aug. 1 at Del Mar.
The mystery colt is Cezanne, trained by Baffert, who has but one career start — a 2 1/4-length victory in a 6 1/2-furlong race on June 6. Why the fascination? A son of Curlin, Cezanne was a $3.6 million purchase at the Fasig-Tipton 2-year-olds in training sale last year by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith and St. Elias Stable, a group that knows high-quality Thoroughbreds.
Right now, however, Tiz tops the Derby chart. The plan is for another layoff, this time seven weeks before the Travers on Aug. 8 at Saratoga. Originally scheduled for Aug. 29, it was moved up to put some distance between itself and the Derby. And, at 1 1/4 miles, it’s the same distance as the Derby.
“I’m very excited about seeing him go a mile and a quarter in the Travers,” Knowlton told the BloodHorse on Saturday. “He certainly looked like a horse who can handle it today.”
Can Tiz the Law handle the 105 days it will take to win a very unusual Triple Crown? Time will tell.
This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 2:20 PM.
