Tiz the Law and exercise rider Heather Smullen take it easy after first morning of training at Churchill for the Kentucky Derby. Coady Photography.
By Tom Law
Tiz the Law enjoyed a fairly light morning of work in visit to the track at Churchill Downs Wednesday after arriving in Louisville from Saratoga Tuesday.
The 3-5 favorite for Saturday’s 146th Kentucky Derby went to the sloppy and sealed Churchill track during the special 15-minute training window for Derby and Kentucky Oaks runners. Accompanied by trainer Barclay Tagg on his pony and ridden by Heather Smullen, Tiz the Law jogged to the frontside and galloped once around. The son of Constitution also paid a visit to the starting gate in the chute before heading back to the barn.
“The track is really off so we just gave him a little canter out there,” Tagg said back at the barn after Tiz the Law cooled out. “The next two days we’ll try to get some serious gallops in with him.”
Tiz the Law earned his odds-on morning-line status for the Derby after successive wins in the Holy Bull, Florida Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes in his four starts this season. He’ll attempt to give owner Sackatoga Stable and Tagg a second Derby victory after fellow New York-bred Funny Cide scored a mild upset over Empire Maker in the 2003 renewal.
“I could write a whole book on it,” Tagg joked when asked about his reflections of Funny Cide and the Derby and being back in Louisville for another run.
Tagg started four other 3-year-olds in the Derby since Funny Cide – Showing Up (sixth in 2006), Nobiz Like Showbiz (10th in 2007), Tale of Ekati (fourth in 2008) and Big Truck (18th in 2008).
“It’s always exciting to have a horse in the Kentucky Derby,” Tagg said. “Funny Cide was a good horse, ran some good races, won some good money all that kind of stuff. He was a very nice horse.
“This horse is completely different. If you had to pick them apart he’s completely different. He’s smaller, chunkier type. He’s a ham and Funny Cide was a ham, too. If he heard a camera click somewhere he’d wheel around and look for it. Funny Cide was really high strung, this colt is a little more sensible.”
Tiz the Law drew post 17 in the field of 18 entered in the Derby, between two California-based colts many consider his chief opposition in Honor A.P. and Authentic. Manny Franco, Tiz the Law’s regular rider with two prior mounts in the Derby, will work out a trip from the outside but Tagg wasn’t about to show his cards Wednesday morning.
“A boxer isn’t going to tell you how he’s going to fight. He’ll get killed that way,” he said.
The Derby field’s other New York-bred, Ny Traffic, also made his first visit to the Churchill track and starting gate during the special window. The son of Cross Traffic galloped after trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. weighed his options looking at the weather and seeing the condition of the track.
“I thought he went well,” Joseph said. “The track was a little sloppy, so I was undecided if we were going to gallop or jog today, but looking at the weather, there’s more rain on the way, so we may jog tomorrow and I decided to go on and gallop. He went well. He was nice and relaxed. He showed good energy. He stood in the gate. So far, all is well.”
Runner-up in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational last time out at Monmouth Park, Ny Traffic drew post 15 for Joseph, jockey Paco Lopez and owners Cash Is King and Paul Braverman. He’s 20-1 on the morning line.
