Giacomo’s half-brother Tiago upsets Santa Anita Derby

Tiago will try to follow in his half-brother’s hoofsteps in the Kentucky Derby (Benoit Photo) Entering Saturday’s $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1), Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss’s homebred TIAGO (Pleasant Tap) was best known as a half-brother to 2005 Kentucky Derby (G1) shocker Giacomo (Holy Bull), and given his short resume, he was dismissed as a rank outsider at 29-1. By roaring through the Santa Anita stretch to get up by a half-length, Tiago stepped out of that shadow and claimed the 1 1/8-mile prize that eluded Giacomo. To further complete the parallels, Tiago is trained by John Shirreffs and ridden by Mike Smith, the same team responsible for Giacomo. “We were just taking a shot, taking a chance and hoping the horse would do something great,” Shirreffs said. “Obviously, he did. Strategy goes out the window when the gate opens, so whatever happens, happens.” Tiago, who was making just his fourth career start in the Santa Anita Derby and his first without blinkers, rated toward the rear of the field in the early going. Up front, Black Seventeen (Is It True) and Sam P. (Cat Thief) dueled for the lead through splits of :23 and :46 4/5, tracked all the way by Liquidity (Tiznow) and King of the Roxy (Littleexpectations). On the far turn, King of the Roxy launched his bid and took command into the stretch, appearing on his way to victory as he reeled off the mile in 1:36. Tiago had made a sensational move of his own, however, gaining ground noticeably while turning for home, and once he leveled off in the lane, he found renewed momentum to surge past King of the Roxy, stopping the teletimer in 1:49 2/5 for nine furlongs over the fast track.

“He finished today like Giacomo did in the (2005) Kentucky Derby,” Smith said. “I
thought there would be plenty of pace and that they’d come back to us, and they
did. I tell you, at the eighth pole, he hit another gear.”

“He had great acceleration in the stretch, like Giacomo, although this horse
has a better turn of foot,” Jerry Moss noted.

As the second-longest shot on the board, Tiago furnished healthy mutuels of
$60.60, $23.80 and $10. King of the Roxy gave back $6.40 and $4.60 as the 7-2
third choice, and nearly 5-2 favorite Sam P. checked in another 2 3/4 lengths back in
third to pay $3.20.

“It’s a shame to get beat like that,” said Richard Migliore, King of the
Roxy’s rider. “He gave all he had and came up a little short today. I thought
right down to the sixteenth pole I was going to win it, and right there I
started to worry, because he really started to weaken under me. The other horse
had some momentum, and it was a tough beat.”

Michael McCarthy, assistant to Todd Pletcher, who sent out both King of the
Roxy and Sam P., commented on his charges’ placed efforts.

“I think (King of the Roxy) put to rest distance limitations by the way he
ran today,” McCarthy said. “Sam P. ran very well. Obviously, with the blinkers
he was a little more keen than we would have liked to see. I don’t know that he
was rank by any means, but obviously, that was something new for him, but they
both ran well.”

The $1 exotics were worth $191.40 (exacta), $862.10 (trifecta)
and $3,202.90 (9-8-2-5 superfecta) with the 5-2 second choice Liquidity in
fourth. Next came Bwana Bull (Holy Bull), Medici Code (GB) (Medicean), Court the
King (Doneraile Court), Black Seventeen, Boutrous (Tiznow) and Level Red
(Aptitude).

With Saturday’s windfall of $450,000, Tiago has now amassed $484,320 from his
4-2-0-1 line. The bay was crossing the wire in front for the first time in his
brief career, having been awarded his maiden victory via disqualification. In
his stakes debut in the Robert B. Lewis S. (G2) last time out, Tiago moved well
along the rail before flattening out to finish seventh.

Bred in Kentucky, the winner is out of multiple stakes queen Set Them Free
(Stop the Music), who in addition to Giacomo, has also produced Grade 2-placed
Sea Jewel (Sea Hero), an unnamed juvenile full brother to Tiago and a yearling
colt by Giant’s Causeway. This is the female family of French classic winner
Baiser Vole (Foolish Pleasure), co-champion two-year-old in France in 1985.

Moss, a co-founder of A&M Records, named both Giacomo and Tiago for sons of
rock stars. Giacomo is named after Sting’s son, while Tiago’s namesake is the
son of Sergio Mendes. In four weeks’ time, Tiago will try to emulate his famous half-brother by
wearing the roses at Churchill Downs.