Following his Saturday romp in the Runhappy Travers, Tiz the Law is by far the heaviest individually listed favorite in the 21-year history of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
The beat goes on for Tiz the Law, who in his last two starts has made good horses look ordinary with dominating performances. He followed up his terrific Belmont Stakes score with an even better race here, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure, a strong one at that, while crushing the previously unbeaten Uncle Chuck and leaving everyone well in his wake.
Seventeen years after winning the Kentucky Derby with the New York-bred gelding Funny Cide, who pulled off a 12-1 upset, trainer Barclay Tagg and Sackatoga Stable will be heading back to Churchill Downs with another New York-bred who will be a much shorter price in the world’s most famous horse race.
Approaching the three-furlong pole of Saturday’s Grade 1 Runhappy Travers Stakes, Tiz the Law, the clear leader of the 3-year-old division, sidled up alongside the pacesetting Uncle Chuck, an apparent top-ranked contender, and the stage was set for a stirring stretch battle before an empty Saratoga grandstand. The fight didn’t last long.
Dr Post, runner-up in the Belmont Stakes and third in the Haskell Invitational, worked a half-mile in 50.69 seconds on Friday morning in company with Basin over Saratoga's main track.
With his reputation battered by a four-race losing streak since February, Storm the Court, the champion 2-year-old male of 2019, tries turf for the first time in Sunday's Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar.
When 2020 began, it would have been impossible to conjure the Ellis Park Derby as a stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby – just as Tommy Drury was oblivious to having a top Kentucky Derby hopeful in his barn. But when Art Collector goes postward as a heavy favorite Sunday in the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, the reality of this bizarre year will start sinking in even further for Drury.
Weekend GamePlan for Aug. 8, 2020: Picks for Travers, Ballerina, Waya.
Ny Traffic, beaten a nose by Authentic in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 18, returned to the work tab Thursday at Saratoga, breezing a half-mile in 49.90 seconds over the main track.
Four years ago, trainer Bob Baffert shipped in a lightly raced 3-year-old to take on a dozen horses, including the winners of two Triple Crown races, in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Arrogate won by 13 1/2 lengths. On Saturday, Baffert will again be represented by a lightly raced 3-year-old, Uncle Chuck, who will take on Tiz the Law, the leading 3-year-old in the country.
