Checking in with Tiz The Law, Ny Traffic

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Authentic (right) holds off Tiz The Law in the Kentucky Derby. Coady photo

By Melissa Bauer-Herzog

The morning after the Kentucky Derby, Tiz The Law’s trainer Barclay Tagg said his New York-bred colt came out of Saturday’s second place finish well and hungry.

The colt’s appetite wasn’t affected by his loss, with Tiz The Law cleaning up both his dinner on Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning. Tiz The Law’s only two losses in eight starts have come at Churchill Downs, a track he doesn’t seem to agree with. Tagg said that Manny Franco told him after the race that the Sackatoga Stable colt wasn’t giving his usual run when asked to go after Authentic in the stretch. In the end, Authentic repelled a challenge from the runner-up at the top of the stretch and won by 1 ¼ lengths for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey John Velazquez.

“(Franco) said when he really had to get down and run, he was kind of swimming on that track there,” Tagg said. “He just doesn’t like the track. You could see it in the stretch there. It looked like he was going to go right on by and win easy, but he didn’t. His last number was a 109 and he bounced down to a 103 yesterday. The jock told me that and when I watched the rerun you could see him just not getting a hold of it nicely.  If you want to make an excuse, that’s an excuse. I don’t know.”

While Tiz The Law is scheduled to stay in Kentucky for two days before heading back to New York on Tuesday, Tagg won’t be going back to New York with him.

Tagg is heading to Lexington, Ky. for this week’s Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase, which takes place Wednesday and Thursday, including a dedicated New York-bred section. The catalogue has a colt he may be extra keen to see with Tiz The Law’s half-brother by Mission Impazible going through the ring in that section.

Like Tiz The Law, the gray colt is out of the Tiznow mare Tizfiz and bred by Twin Creeks Farm. Hip 73 is part of the Sequel New York consignment selling Wednesday morning.

As for coming plans for Tiz The Law, while the Preakness is still on the table, Tagg thinks the gap between the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic may ultimately prove to work better.

“I just have to see how he is,” Tagg said. “[The Breeders’ Cup] would give him two months. That would be a lot better.”

Meanwhile, New York-bred Ny Traffic had some tough luck when running eighth in the Kentucky Derby. The colt came out of the race with some scratches and a missing shoe but trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said he was doing well.

“He came out well soundness-wise,” said Joseph of the gray Cross Traffic colt bred by Brian Culnan. “He got a few cuts front and back. No race in mind at the moment, we’ll see how he is in 7-10 days and then go from there.”

If either colt goes to the Preakness, they’ll have almost exactly a month until the next race with the Triple Crown moving to Pimlico in four weeks.

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/AuthenticDerbyFinish.jpg

Source URL: https://www.nytbreeders.org/news/2020/09/06/checking-in-with-tiz-the-law-ny-traffic/