Tiz a Slam, Melmich to Battle in Singspiel at Woodbine

After a trip to Kentucky for a pair of graded stakes that saw him claim a front-running victory in the 1 1/2-mile Louisville Stakes (G3T) on the Churchill Downs turf, Tiz a Slam will stay at that distance and surface in his return to his Woodbine base in the $125,000 Singspiel Stakes (G3T) June 22.

A Chiefswood Stable homebred, Tiz a Slam will be looking for his second straight grade 3 victory and fifth graded stakes win overall. The 5-year-old son of Tiznow  secured a pair of those graded stakes wins on the Woodbine turf last year, taking the Dominion Day Stakes (G3T) and the Sky Classic Stakes (G2T) last July.

Tiz a Slam is trained by Roger Attfield, who will be trying for his eighth victory in the Singspiel.

Awaiting Tiz a Slam will be 17-time winner and fan favorite Melmich, who was claimed by owners Stephen Chesney and Cory Hoffman for $20,000 and will be making his first start since a pair of runner-up finishes in grade 2 stakes in March on the turf at Gulfstream Park.

Kevin Attard trains Melmich, an 8-year-old Wilko gelding. Melmich's list of victories includes a pair of grade 3 Dominion Day triumphs: the Seagram Cup in 2017 and Valedictory in 2015.

  

"I thought he ran three really great races at Gulfstream," Attard said. "His last one (second by a nose in the Pan American) was a heartbreaker. To lose by as little as he did ... unfortunately, he's had this bad habit of lugging in during his races and that definitely cost him. Had he run straight, he would have been an easy winner."

Attard is hopeful that his consistent charge, who has posted nine seconds over his past 13 starts, can go one better on Saturday.

"We can't complain. He showed up each and every time we ran him in Florida, on a surface we weren't really too sure of to begin with," Attard said. "So, it kind of opened up the doors for a lot of other things."

Attard is looking for the eight-year-old to take a shine to the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.   

"He loves the distance and hopefully he'll like the turf here at Woodbine. He should like that long stretch," Attard said. "My biggest concern is that we gave him a little bit of a break after his last race at Gulfstream, sent him to the farm for a bit. Hopefully, we have him tight enough to go a mile-and-a-half off a little layoff.

"Those seconds can weigh on you. It makes the heart tick a little harder and faster. But he's such a special horse. To do what he's done, to be as consistent as he is over a consistent period of time, against the best competition of his kind in the category - it's hard to find a horse that has that type of longevity and success."

The trainer with 420 career victories will also send out Sir Sahib in Saturday's feature race.