Tiz the Law makes it look easy in Travers

By Paul Halloran/The Saratoga Special

Ever the pragmatist, Barclay Tagg had 535,000 reasons why he was just fine with winning the Travers Stakes in front of a pandemic-restricted gathering of horsemen, owners and media.

“The purse is the same,” Tagg quipped, after Tiz the Law joined the $2 million earners’ club with an effortlessly dominant performance in Saratoga Race Course’s signature race, becoming only the third New York-bred ever to win it (Ruthless 1867, Thunder Rumble 1992). Tiz the Law moved into 10th place in career earnings among New York-breds, with $2,015,300 banked from six wins in seven starts.

Sackatoga Stable operating manager Jack Knowlton, while equally thrilled with the result, would have much preferred to have a typical Travers Day crowd share in the hometown hero’s glory.

“I wish there were 50,000 people here to see this performance live,” said Knowlton, whose modest outfit that focuses on New York-breds has now struck lightning twice. Seventeen years after Funny Cide – the second leading New York-bred earner with $3,529,412 – won the first two jewels of the Triple Crown, but was forced to scratch from the Travers, Sackatoga is back with a horse that can only be considered a monster. Or perhaps a magician.

“I was getting closer to Tiz the Law at the quarter pole,” said Javier Castellano, who rode Caracaro to a very respectable second-place finish, “and he disappeared.”

The final margin was 5 1/2 lengths in 2:00.95, the fastest winning time since Arrogate’s 1:59.36 in 2016. It almost certainly could have been faster if jockey Manny Franco didn’t gear him down in the final sixteenth, fully realizing that the delayed Kentucky Derby will be run in four weeks.

“I think there’s a lot more in the tank,” said Franco. “I tried to save some horse.”

Franco had Tiz the Law positioned just outside Bob Baffert’s next would-be super horse, Uncle Chuck, and 77-1 shot Shivaree as they ran down the backstretch after a quarter mile in :23:65. As they entered the far turn after a half in :48.36, Luis Saez was already asking Uncle Chuck, while the most movement coming from Franco was a glance behind him as he pulled ahead.

“Going from the half-mile pole to the three-eighths pole, I was trying to wait, because I knew I had him,” Franco said of Uncle Chuck, the 5-2 second choice who faded to sixth. “I was worried about the horses behind me and I was trying to save some horse before I made my run.”

As it turned out, Franco’s biggest worry was needing to hustle back to the jockey’s room after the winner’s circle presentation in time to ride Blitchton Lady, another New York-bred whom he rode to victory in the finale.

“It gave me chills,” said Franco, who picked up his first Triple Crown race win when he piloted Tiz the Law to a Belmont Stakes victory June 20. “When I pushed the button, he took off.”

Not bad for a $110,000 purchase at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred yearling sale. By Constitution out of the Tiznow mare Tizfiz, Tiz the Law was bred by Twin Creeks Farm and sold by Sequel New York. It was another bargain for Knowlton and Sackatoga, who paid only $75,000 for Funny Cide.

“We’re getting redemption 17 years later,” Knowlton said of Funny Cide missing the Travers. “Tiz won the Belmont and now he won the Travers. It’s quite an accomplishment for our little stable of New York-breds.”

Knowlton has 35 partners in the Tiz the Law ownership group, including Bill Evans of Philadelphia, who was introduced to Knowlton by a mutual friend 11 years ago and has bought into 17 Sackatoga horses.

“This one turned out to be the charm,” Evans said.

Maybe because of the pandemic, and certainly due to fans not being able to attend the races, Knowlton has not yet sensed the widespread fervor for Tiz the Law that he saw with Funny Cide. Saturday’s win figures to change that.

“We had Funny Cide Mania, in this town and everywhere,” he said. “There was a Funny Cide store and everything. It’s taken a little time for Tiz to get to that point. I really believe after this race he is going to be adopted by not only Saratoga, but even more so New York and hopefully the country.”

While Tagg fittingly credited his team that includes assistant/partner Robin Smullen, exercise rider Heather Smullen and groom Juan Barajas, he had a one-word explanation when asked what makes Tiz the Law so good.

“God,” said Tagg, who won’t get an argument from anyone who watched the 2020 Travers.

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2020/08/08/tiz-the-law-makes-it-look-easy-in-travers/

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