Tiz the Law facing uncertain path after Florida Derby success

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – As a final Kentucky Derby prep, Tiz the Law’s 4 1/4 length triumph in Saturday’s Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby would have been about as good as it gets under normal circumstances. That decisive yet not overly taxing victory came on the heels of an eight-week layoff that would likely have had the once-beaten New York-bred primed for his peak performance five weeks down the road on Derby day.

But these aren’t normal times, and the Kentucky Derby is now five months, not five weeks down the road, leaving trainer Barclay Tagg with few concrete answers regarding the path he might take with Tiz the Law in the weeks and months ahead.

“Right now, I’m perfectly happy with everything,” Tagg said by phone from his barn at Palm Meadows on Sunday morning. “He got back here last night, ate up, and when I took the polos [leg wraps] off this morning, there wasn’t a pimple on him. I love the fact we were able to get the race in and not only got the experience but the win, which was like a walk in the park for him, it didn’t seem to take anything out of him. And by winning, he earned enough qualifying points where we can sit and wait. A month, two months, whatever it takes, without having to worry now about getting into the Derby field.”

Tagg said he’d like to get three races into Tiz the Law before the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5. If the timing works out, Tagg said, he’d like to run Tiz the Law in the Preakness, Belmont and Travers. The Preakness at Pimlico is scheduled for May 16 and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park is scheduled for June 6, but they may be rescheduled because of the coronavirus pandemic and to better fit in with the Kentucky Derby to form a Triple Crown series. The Travers is typically run in late August at Saratoga.

“Being a New York-bred with all New York connections, obviously the Travers is a race we’d love to win, but we have to see how the dates work out,” Tagg said. “It’s just impossible to really plan ahead for anything at this point.”

Tiz the Law, who earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 96 for his Florida Derby win, is campaigned by Jack Knowlton's Sackatoga Stable.

Tagg said the one question he’s been asked a lot over the last 12 hours is whether he would possibly take Tiz the Law out of training for awhile, until racing returns to normal around the country.

“He’s a young, growing animal and I have to keep doing something with him, I just can’t totally back off him now,” said Tagg, who ruled out the Arkansas Derby on May 2 as a possible option. “He doesn’t train hard anyway, so we’ll just keep him on his regular routine and wait and see what happens.”

As for Tagg himself, he’ll remain at Palm Meadows for the foreseeable future with a string of 12-14 horses that also includes Highland Glory, game winner of the Sanibel Island Stakes under Paco Lopez earlier on Saturday’s card.

“It may not have looked that way on paper, but I felt good about the direction she was moving in and the way she was training, so it wasn’t totally unexpected to me that she won the race,” said Tagg. “She comes from a family we’ve done a lot of good with over the years, and is a full sis to a fairly nice horse.”

Tagg was referring to the two-time stakes winner Highland Sky.

“Paco gave her a hell of a ride and I think she should continue to get better as we go along.”

Ete Indien a bit scraped up

Meanwhile, Florida Derby third-place finisher Ete Indien was nursing some minor scrapes and lacerations in the aftermath of the Florida Derby. He also lost a shoe during the running of the race, according to trainer Patrick Biancone, who believed all the trouble occurred when As Seen On Tv ran up on Ete Indien on the first turn.

“He’s all right, he has a little inflammation and some lacerations on his legs,” Biancone said on Monday. “We were a little bit concerned right after the race the way he came back, but all his blood work is good so it shouldn’t be a problem. We weren’t going to beat the winner in any case. He’s a better horse right now. But he will recover. If we were running back in three or four weeks it might be an issue, but obviously we have no plan at the moment. We just don’t know what’s going to happen at this time.”

Shivaree gutsy in defeat

While Tiz the Law’s victory in the Florida Derby as the 7-5 favorite was expected by most, the same cannot be said for Shivaree’s second-place finish as an 80-1 outsider, coming as it did in just his second career start around two turns and first since finishing far behind Chance It in the In Reality Stakes here in late September.

Shivaree disputed the pace from the outset inside Fountain of Youth winner Ete Indien, ultimately getting the better of that rival albeit while no match for the winner through the final furlong.

“I’m not sure what our expectations were coming into the race because we really didn’t know about the distance,” said Ralph Nicks, who trains Shivaree for owner-breeder Jacks or Better Farm. “What we do know is that he’s a hard-trying horse, and that yesterday he fought off some very good horses before getting beaten by a very, very good horse who won the race.”

Like Tagg, Nicks said he has no idea what might be next for Shivaree, who earned 40 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby, which would likely have been enough to earn him a slot in the field were the race not postponed due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

“There are too many more important things going on in the world right now to dwell on what might have been had the Derby not been rescheduled,” said Nicks. “I did nominate him this morning for the Arkansas Derby and we’ll keep that race somewhat on the radar. But there are just too many unknowns to make a decision at the moment. Hopefully some other places will get back running by then and we’ll have other options that can come into play.”