Authentic, Tiz the Law Set for Classic Rematch

How strange has the 2020 racing season been? Consider that the two 3-year-old males entered in the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) will each enter the 1 1/4-mile race Nov. 7 at Keeneland off starts in the Triple Crown races.

Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Authentic will race in the Classic off a runner-up finish to Swiss Skydiver in the Preakness Stakes (G1) Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course. When Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) winner Tiz the Law starts in the Classic, it will mark the son of Constitution 's first start since finishing second to Authentic in the Derby Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.

This year's third classic winner, filly Swiss Skydiver, also was pre-entered but her connections listed the Classic as their second preference, with the Longines Distaff (G1) being first preference. 

Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing's Authentic is one of three horses trained by Bob Baffert entered in the Classic, joining top 4-year-olds Improbable  and Maximum Security . Since 2014 Baffert has won the Breeders' Cup Classic three times, all with 3-year-olds in Bayern  in 2014, American Pharoah  in 2015, and Arrogate  in 2016.

American Pharoah captured the previous Classic run at Keeneland after sweeping the Triple Crown. He entered Breeders' Cup off a runner-up finish in the Travers Stakes (G1). Bayern and Arrogate were more late-developing as Bayern failed to hit the board in his lone classic start before winning the William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) and Pennsylvania Derby (G2) ahead of his Breeders' Cup score while Arrogate's stakes debut would be his smashing win in the Travers.

With wins this season in the Sham (G3) and San Felipe (G2) stakes, Authentic most assuredly was on the Triple Crown trail but then COVID-19 forced a Triple Crown schedule to be re-arranged. He would adjust. After a runner-up finish in the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) in June and a Haskell win in July, Authentic followed with his Derby win in September and runner-up Preakness finish in October.

Baffert acknowledged it's a bit strange to be going straight from the Triple Crown to the Breeders' Cup. Arrogate trained up to the Breeders' Cup for 10 weeks and American Pharoah for nine weeks.

"I would've preferred to give him more time, but I don't think it's going to affect him very much," Baffert said of Authentic's scheduled five weeks of preparation going into the Preakness.

That said, the 'September Derby' winner's run-up to the Breeders' Cup is fairly similar to Bayern, who started once a month from May through September and entered the Classic off six weeks rest. Baffert notes that when the schedules were changed up this year, he was able to get Authentic a break from his March 7 San Felipe win to his June 6 runner-up finish in the Santa Anita Derby.

"The thing about my horses—before they even run, they have a pretty good foundation in them," Baffert said. "He's got a great foundation. When the pandemic started in Santa Anita, when the racing stopped, I stopped on him and I think it affected him for the Santa Anita Derby. But then we got him going again, and he's a very talented horse."

While Authentic raced in this year's final two Triple Crown races, Tiz the Law raced in the first two: taking the June 20 Belmont, which was contested at 1 1/8 miles this year, ahead of his runner-up finish in the Derby, where Authentic held him off in a dramatic confrontation in the stretch. Of course (welcome to 2020) Tiz the Law had a start between those classics—his 5 1/2-romp in the 1 1/4-mile Travers.

With the Derby as his most recent start, Tiz the Law will enter the Classic off a nine-week break under the watchful eye of trainer Barclay Tagg. He breezed four times at Belmont Park from Sept. 25-Oct. 16 and then was shipped early to Keeneland for an Oct. 23 breeze and followed with another breeze Oct. 31.

Jack Knowlton, managing partner for owner Sackatoga Stable, said the break has helped Tiz the Law.

"All the stiffness he had after the Kentucky Derby has gone away and he's back to normal," Knowlton said. "The time off is great for him, though I still discount the four weeks between the Travers and the Kentucky Derby as the reason he lost. He just didn't seem to handle that track.

"You look at his last few works before the Kentucky Derby and they were phenomenal. They couldn't have been better."

In 2003 Sackatoga and Tagg teamed up with dual classic winner Funny Cide. In that more normal year, in terms of the racing calendar, Funny Cide won the Derby and Preakness and finished third in the Belmont. He then finished third in the Aug. 3 Haskell and, in part because of illness, didn't race again until the Breeders' Cup Classic 13 weeks later, where he would finish ninth.

This year there have been no bumps in the road with Tiz the Law. Tagg said that while he typically prefers to ship in close to a race, he's made an exception for his classic-winning 3-year-old who has worked at Keeneland twice and settled in.

"This race is more important. He's going to race against older horses," Tagg said, noting the calm of Keeneland has made this a good race to ship in early. "He's taken it all good and we've had it pretty nice. Usually the problem with going to a track early is all the usual hubbub. I usually just try to avoid that because I think it's too much for them going to a new place. It's all worked out well here."

As for Swiss Skydiver, McPeek said it was fair to characterize the Distaff as her first option but the connections would take advantage of their Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" fees-paid bids to both races by giving full consideration to both options. Since the Preakness, the daughter of Daredevil  has breezed three times at Churchill Downs, most recently on Oct. 31.

"At this point we're going Distaff unless there is a late defection from the Classic," McPeek said after the last breeze.

Swiss Skydiver was entered in the Distaff at Monday's post position draw.