Wenzel tries to conjure old magic from Slew's Tiz Whiz
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The year was 2022. Coming off a fourth-place finish in the Budweiser Stakes at Emerald Downs, 4-year-old Slew’s Tiz Whiz had yet to prove himself to be of Longacres Mile caliber, so trainer Tom Wenzel entered him in a conditioned allowance scheduled two weeks before the Governor’s Stakes.
Slew’s Tiz Whiz won the allowance, then he won the Governor’s and Longacres Mile.
Slew’s Tiz Whiz is about as decorated a horse as Emerald Downs has seen in its 30-year history, having won seven stakes and placing in several others. That’s what makes the Slew’s presence in Saturday’s seventh race, a conditioned allowance with a $40,000 optional-claiming tag – which he’s not in for – so compelling, and somewhat analogous to his path to the 2022 Longacres Mile.
“He was running fourth. We were just trying to get him going a little bit and that kind of helped us springboard to the Mile,” said Wenzel, Emerald’s all-time winningest stakes trainer while reminiscing about that 2022 run.
Assessing the current landscape, Wenzel added, “The horse came out of the Governor’s in decent shape. I’d be okay running him off of that race in the Mile, but when this came up on the overnight, I just said, ‘What the hell, let’s try.’
“Last year in the Mile, we didn’t fare so well. From my standpoint, I either look like I’m smart or a dumb shit for running him here.”
Slew’s Tiz Whiz is eligible for this allowance condition because he’s yet to win in 2026, having finished second in the Governor’s, third in the Budweiser, and third in an allowance to start his year. The defeat in the Governor’s was the first time in five years that he had lost that 6 1/2-furlong race, and on Saturday he’ll be stretching out to a mile, a distance at which the Emerald lifer boasts a career record of 6-2-1-2.
Slew has performed respectably in 2026, but his speed figures have not been on par with years past, indicating that he may finally have lost a step at age 8. Saturday will either cement or disprove that notion, as well as dictate whether he’ll enter the Aug. 16 Longacres Mile, a race in which he crossed the wire seventh last year.
“We are planning for the Mile if everything goes good,” said Wenzel. “I wouldn’t lead him out there if he didn’t look like he was doing well.”
Saturday’s six-horse field includes three stakes winners – Slew’s Tiz Whiz, Rondelito, and He’s Not Talking – and two previous stakes participants – Veritas Aequitas and the field’s lone 3-year-old, the stakes-placed Senor Tequilas.
Veritas Aequitas, a 5-year-old trained by Dan Markle, on July 19 ran the fastest mile, 1:34.89, at the current meet, earning a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure, which is the best last-out number in the field. Unlike most closers, Veritas Aequitas fares better the closer he breaks to the rail. He had the inside post on July 19. On Saturday, he’ll break from the far outside.
“Our post position is going to compromise any chance to get to the fence, and saving ground is essential,” said Markle. “If he gets forced wide both turns, it’s probably not going to be pretty. We’ll see if [jockey] Alex [Cruz] can figure out how to save some inches.”
Markle isn’t completely ruling out the Longacres Mile should Veritas Aequitas turn in another virtuosic performance, but he’s not sure his horse has the kind of ceiling that Slew’s Tiz Whiz has proven capable of hitting.
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“I wish they had a consolation [Longacres] Mile,” said Markle. “We’ll just see who nominates for the Mile and see how he handles this on Saturday.”
Running beyond 6 1/2 furlongs for the first time is the promising 4-year-old Cap It Daddy, who earned a career-best 86 Beyer in beating top claimer Chuckanut Bay on July 11 for the first time in three epic showdowns this year. Cap It Daddy finished second to Chuckanut Bay by a combined 2 1/2 lengths in their first two meetings.
“I think he’s ready for a mile,” said trainer Elodio Madrigal. “He runs a good race, maybe I can consider running the Longacres Mile. He needs to pass the test.”
He’s not alone.
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