Derby Points Draw Tiz the Law to Holy Bull Stakes

Three-year-old Tiz the Law first came to the attention of Kentucky Derby (G1) enthusiasts when Sackatoga Stable, which memorably campaigned 2003 Kentucky Derby victor Funny Cide, entered the son of Constitution  in an Aug. 8 maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course. 

But as the headliner of the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) over 1 1/16 miles Feb. 1 at Gulfstream Park, Tiz the Law is out to prove he has no intention of flying under the radar like his predecessor. 

A handy winner of that 6 1/2-furlong maiden sprint, Tiz the Law generated his own Derby buzz next out when he took the Champagne Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park and picked up 10 points on the 2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby. 

"Funny Cide came in under the radar screen. Until he won the Derby, other than folks up around Saratoga and in the Capital District, nobody paid much attention to him," said Jack Knowlton of Sackatoga Stable. "Here, after (Tiz the Law) wins the Champagne, it turns out that he is the Derby favorite at this point, which is a little bit daunting, to say the least. Everybody is looking at every move you make."

Tiz the Law followed his top-level effort with a third-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, where he was squeezed out in the stretch and beaten less than a length by Silver Prospector. The loss was not entirely without merit as the colt picked up two more Derby points. 

"That was a tough spot with the track being what it was and caught down inside, but a lot of people think like I do and draw a line through this race," Knowlton said. "Even after he lost that race, he was the favorite in the first Churchill Downs futures pool, and he's the lowest odds at William Hill in Vegas for the Derby. There is a little more pressure than in the days of Funny Cide, who came in under the radar."

Funny Cide finished fifth in the Holy Bull almost two decades ago, but Knowlton said Tiz the Law's connections put little stock in history and prefer to look instead to the future. With trainer Barclay Tagg—who also trained Funny Cide to classic glory—again at the helm, Knowlton said the colt's connections plan to descend on the South Florida track en masse. 

"We have 26 shares in the horse," Knowlton said. "We bought him for $110,000 at the New York-bred sale, Fasig-Tipton, in Saratoga. We have a total of 32 people who have some interest in the horse. We took 53 people to Kentucky when he ran there, and we have over 60 coming to the Holy Bull."

Jockey Manuel Franco, who was aboard for both the Champagne and the Kentucky Jockey Club, will have the return call from post 3. 

Making his stakes debut for trainer Chad Brown is Juddmonte homebred Toledo, a son of Into Mischief  who broke his maiden in November. The colt was second in a December allowance optional claiming race at Gulfstream behind fellow Holy Bull runner Ete Indien and will look to improve in his second start at the Hallandale Beach, Fla., track. 

Toledo will break from the rail with two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. 

Patrick Biancone will make his own attempt at earning points on the Derby trail when he sends out Ete Indien from post 4 under Luca Panici. The stakes attempt will be the second for the Summer Front  colt, who finished off the board last year in the Dixiana Bourbon Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland. 

"He can go either way, but what he did the other day was very impressive to me," said Biancone, who owns Ete Indien in partnership with D P Racing, Linda Shanahan, Sanford Bacon, Dream With Me Stable, and Horse France America. "We hope he can carry it further. He has a lot of speed.

"It's early. We're still in January. What we are going to do with him is see if he can show us the potential of a Derby horse. So far, so good. If he has it, he has it. If he doesn't have it, we're not going to force him to finish ninth in the Derby. My partners don't have Derby fever, but they will have it if he is one of the first four or five favorites."

Carrying the banner for the Louisiana-breds is Paradise Farms, Terry Raymond, and Jana Wagner's Relentless Dancer. The son of Midshipman  broke his maiden on second asking for trainer Mike Maker before jumping up one start later to score by an impressive 10 1/2 lengths in the Louisiana Legacy Stakes at Delta Downs. 

"He's doing very good," Maker said. "After his last race, he got sick on us and forced us to miss some time. We're just happy to have him back. He had a rough go of it and had us really concerned there for a couple weeks. He's always one that tipped his hand in the morning, and we're glad to see he's back and training like he is."

Fresh off some much-needed rest and relaxation, Relentless Dancer has breezed two bullet five-furlong works on the Gulfstream dirt in preparation for the race Saturday. Jose Ortiz will have the call from post 6. 

Uncork the Bottle, Clear Destination, and Mayberry Deputy complete the field. 

The Holy Bull has produced two winners of the Kentucky Derby: Go For Gin (1994) and Barbaro (2006). The race offers 10-4-2-1 points to the first four finishers toward a start in the Derby. 

Entries: Holy Bull S. (G3)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 01, 2020, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo
• 5:04 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Toledo (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Chad C. Brown	7/2
2	2Uncork the Bottle (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	118	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	12/1
3	3Tiz the Law (NY)	Manuel Franco	124	Barclay Tagg	3/5
4	4Ete Indien (KY)	Luca Panici	120	Patrick L. Biancone	6/1
5	5Clear Destination (FL)	Paco Lopez	120	Ashlee Brnjas	20/1
6	6Relentless Dancer (LA)	Jose L. Ortiz	122	Michael J. Maker	8/1
7	7Mayberry Deputy (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	Kenneth G. McPeek	15/1