Tiztastic, Good Cheer Join Top 10 in NTRA Top 3YO Poll
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Photo: Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
Tiztastic wins the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
A consistent performer on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, Tiztastic finally got his breakthrough victory March 22 in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and was awarded a place among the nation's top sophomores in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Top 3-Year-Old Poll.
The son of Tiz the Law closed from well off the pace in the 1 3/16-mile contest to win by 2 1/4 lengths for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith. In the weekly NTRA poll voted on by national media, Steve Asmussen-trained Tiztastic debuted in sixth place March 25.
Another addition to the top 10 was Godolphin homebred Good Cheer , winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) Saturday and an undefeated 6-for-6 heading into the May 2 Kentucky Oaks (G1). She ranks eighth.
The top five in the 3-year-old poll remained unchanged with champion Citizen Bull maintaining a nine-point lead over Journalism ahead of their likely matchup in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (G1). Third-ranked Sovereignty is entered for the Florida Derby (G1) March 29, the same day fourth-ranked Coal Battle will enter the Arkansas Derby (G1) starting gate.
Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) winner Final Gambit fell just one point shy of the top 10, placing 11th after his last-to-first win.
In the Top Thoroughbred Poll, Sierra Leone dropped from fourth to sixth after finishing third in the New Orleans Classic (G2) Saturday, his seasonal debut. The victor of that race, Touchuponastar , appeared in 10th on the rankings.