Francesca LeDonne Photo

Tiz the Law posts five-furlong breeze for Breeders' Cup Classic (G1)

by Ryan Martin

Sackatoga Stable's four-time Grade 1 winner Tiz the Law was back to work early Saturday morning, recording a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.54 over a fast main track at Belmont Park.

The bay son of Constitution stepped foot on the track around 6:30 a.m. and broke off at the five-eighths pole with regular exercise rider Heather Smullen aboard, recording splits of 25 and 36.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:15.30 and seven furlongs in 1:29.14 for trainer Barclay Tagg.

"It was a great work. He went well," Tagg said. "He's been very straightforward."

The move was Tiz the Law's third work since finishing second in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, where he finished three-quarters of a length to Authentic. He scored in his prior four starts this season in dominant fashion beginning with the Grade 3 Holy Bull and Grade 1 Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream Park. Tiz the Law then posted a sensational 3 ¾-length victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20, where he became the first Empire State-bred to win the American Classic in 138 years, and followed with a triumph in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers on August 8 at Saratoga, which he won by 5 ½ lengths.

During his juvenile campaign, Tiz the Law was a first-out winner against his New York-bred counterpart exactly one calendar year prior to his Runhappy Travers triumph en route to a score in the Grade 1 Champagne last October at Belmont Park. A $110,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearling Sale, Tiz the Law has amassed $2,615,300 in purse earnings.

Smullen, who has been aboard Tiz the Law for his last several breezes since the Kentucky Derby, said she was pleased with the work.

"The horse was really good. It was early and the track was a little dry and cuppy," Smullen said. "It wasn't the fastest, but he was really comfortable and did everything on his own. It was nice and consistent. He's getting back to feeling happy like he was before we went out to Churchill."

Smullen praised Tiz the Law for his level of intelligence and said not all horses of his ilk are as easy to manage.

"He's very smart, but on top of being very smart, he's manageable which is nice," Smullen said. "Some horses that are fast are not manageable like him. He's just smart in how he goes about life."

The connections of Tiz the Law opted to bypass the Grade 1 Preakness and instead train up to the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 7 at Keeneland, where he will face older horses for the first time. He will attempt to become the 13th 3-year-old to score a victory in the Classic.

Bred in the Empire State by Twin Creeks Farm, Tiz the Law is out of the graded stakes winning Tiznow mare Tizfiz.