2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: Tiz the Bomb works half-mile at Keeneland
The trainer Ken McPeek wanted to avoid working Tiz the Bomb over a wet track, but with Tiz the Bomb set to ship to Del Mar on Monday to start Friday in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, McPeek had no choice.
So, on Sunday at Keeneland, Tiz the Bomb worked a half-mile over a sloppy main track in 47.20 seconds. Working by himself, Tiz the Bomb clocked the fastest of 20 works at the distance.
“Just a maintenance half-mile,” McPeek said, reached by phone later Sunday. “We’ve been dodging the rain for days now. I could have worked him on turf today, but the [dirt] track was good and sealed. He handled it like he does everything else – no problems.”
Tiz the Bomb might be flying a little under the radar coming into Friday’s race. Since an educational dirt-sprint debut in May, Tiz the Bomb has won a dirt maiden mile by more than 14 lengths and two turf stakes, the $500,000 Kentucky Juvenile Mile and the Grade 2 Bourbon, part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.
In the Bourbon, Tiz the Bomb popped open his starting gate stall door before the race began and ran a short distance down the Keeneland grass course before being reined-in by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. and brought back to be reloaded. Horses rarely win after this happens, but Tiz the Bomb rallied wide to get up by three quarters of a length.
“We’re going to do some gate schooling when we get out there, but he was just on his toes that day,” McPeek said.
Tiz the Bomb is by Hit It a Bomb, who won the 2015 BC Juvenile Turf at Keeneland.
Tiz the Bomb was the lone Juvenile Turf pre-entrant to post a timed workout Sunday. Besides him, the race is expected to draw Albahr, Coinage, Credibility, Dakota Gold, Dubawi Legend, Glounthaune, Grafton Street, Great Max, Mackinnon, Modern Games, Portfolio Company, Slipstream, and Stolen Base.
Credibility, who wasn’t one of the 14 horses assured of a spot in the gate when pre-entries were taken last week, got into the race when possible favorite Annapolis was withdrawn because of injury. Ready To Purrform is the next horse in line to make the field and trainer Brad Cox said the colt was shipping from Kentucky to Del Mar in hopes of getting into the Juvenile Turf.