Taraz Gets Two-Turn Test in Martha Washington
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coady Photography
Taraz breaks her maiden on debut at Churchill Downs
Taraz has won her only two starts by a combined margin of 18 3/4 lengths, and trainer Brad Cox is high on the filly—high enough to mention her name in the same sentence as the 2020 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).
That makes the Juddmonte Farms homebred daughter of Into Mischief a standout among a field of five 3-year-old fillies for the $150,000 Martha Washington Stakes Feb. 1 at Oaklawn Park.
Though Cox made it clear the Derby is only a slight possibility at the moment for the talented Taraz, the thought has merit after her 11 1/4-length score in the Dec. 21 Letellier Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
"It's very early in the season, but the Triple Crown noms were due last weekend, and we were going through the horses a few weeks ago and I spoke with Garrett O'Rourke from Juddmonte, and I said, 'You know, it's 600 bucks. She's definitely worth nominating,'" Cox said. "Obviously, people are going to see that and think we're pointing her to the Derby or the Preakness (G1). And that's not really the case. We're pointing her toward the Martha Washington, bottom line.
"It's one step at a time, one race at a time. But I didn't feel like, right now with what she's showing, it's that far-fetched."
The Martha Washington offers 17 points to the top four finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale toward a start in the May 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). The two-turn mile will be the first test beyond 6 1/2 furlongs for Taraz, slated to leave post 3 with jockey Florent Geroux for her 2020 debut.
"She's done everything right since she arrived from the farm," Cox said. "She obviously has a lot of speed, and she's a big filly that we're hoping can carry her speed around two turns, and we're going to find out on Saturday."
It's also difficult for anyone at the track not to notice the filly's stature.
"If someone told you she was a colt, you would easily believe it," the trainer added. "I guess that's what makes her special. … She's big and she's athletic and she's light on her feet. She's got the speed of a running back and the body of a linebacker."
Brad Cox at Churchill Downs
Taraz is a third-generation Juddmonte-bred filly and is the first stakes winner out of her dam, Silk Route, by recently deceased breed-shaper Empire Maker . She has a juvenile full brother named Silk Trade and a yearling half sister by Flintshire .
Although Silk Route has yet to produce a significant contender and did not exactly stand out on the racetrack with two wins and three thirds from nine starts and $104,104 in earnings, the mare has a standout pedigree. O'Rourke, Juddmonte's general manager, also pointed out that she won on dirt.
"Her dam was an OK racehorse, nothing great. She was a big mare as well," he said. "(She) had a few foals that didn't live up to expectations, so going into breaking (Taraz), we were somewhat tempered in our expectations.
"By the time we put a saddle on her back, that's when the expectations started to grow a little bit because she looked really, really well under tack, and riders started to get off her and—especially as an early 2-year-old before we even worked her—comment on what a lovely mover she was and how nice she felt."
Taraz's female family traces to high-profile turf mares. Her fourth dam is Epsom Oaks (G1) runner-up Where You Lead, the dam of group 3 winner I Will Follow, who in turn produced multiple group 1 winner and highly successful sire Rainbow Quest.
Slightly Dangerous, a daughter of Where You Lead, was purchased by Juddmonte owner Khalid bin Abdullah as a 3-year-old after winning the Fred Darling Stakes (G3) in April 1982. Two months later she placed second in the Epsom Oaks.
As a broodmare, Slightly Dangerous produced group 1-winning sires Warning and Commander in Chief, as well as Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap (G1T) winner Yashmak, among nine black-type performers. Included among those is Taraz's second dam, Jibe, a Juddmonte-bred stakes winner who finished second in the 1997 Fillies' Mile Stakes (G1) at Ascot.
"She has a very turf-centric pedigree going back to Slightly Dangerous and Jibe, but her dam actually won on the dirt at Churchill Downs and won well there, so I don't think we were ever doubtful about putting her on the dirt," O'Rourke said.
"What she's done so far is very encouraging, and we don't want to get ahead of ourselves yet because, basically, she's won a maiden and a listed race … (but) obviously, she's not taken a wrong step yet," he added. "And she works very well in the mornings, so she's easy to get excited about, but we've been down that road with a lot of horses, some of which live up to expectations and some that don't live up to expectations.
"She was always a big filly, but she was never awkward big. She was always well-developed big. She has an Into Mischief rear end on her, powerful and muscular. But I think she has the size and scope of Empire Maker. Usually, you do matings like that where you have this perfect idea of what your dream product should look like, and rarely, only about 5% of the time, do they come out looking like that. But she definitely was one that came out looking good."
Cox has also entered Flurry Racing Stables, Qatar Racing, and Big Aut Farms' Shedaresthedevil, who was third in the Sorrento Stakes (G2) at Del Mar in her second start and most recently finished second in the Oct. 13 Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
The two fillies carrying the top weight of 122 pounds are dual stakes winner High On Gin, who finished 11th in the Jan. 4 Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream Park last time out, and the Steve Asmussen-trained Princesinha Julia, who has won her past three starts, including the Dec. 15 Trapeze Stakes at Remington Park. Maiden winner O Seraphina rounds out the field.
Oaklawn Park, Saturday, February 01, 2020, Race 6Entries: Martha Washington S.
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1O Seraphina (FL)
Martin Garcia
115
Joe Sharp
6/1
2
2High On Gin (FL)
Declan Cannon
122
Carl J. Deville
15/1
3
3Taraz (KY)
Florent Geroux
119
Brad H. Cox
1/1
4
4Shedaresthedevil (KY)
Joseph Talamo
115
Brad H. Cox
3/1
5
5Princesinha Julia (KY)
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
122
Steven M. Asmussen
5/2
