Nobiz is all business in Wood

Equipment changes seem to have done the trick for Nobiz (Debra Kral/Horsephotos.com)

Elizabeth J. Valando’s homebred NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ (Albert the Great), racing
in blinkers for the first time and sporting cotton in his ears, posted a
determined half-length victory in Saturday’s $750,000
Wood Memorial
S. (G1) to re-assert himself as a leading Kentucky Derby (G1) contender.
Trainer Barclay Tagg made the equipment changes to correct the lugging-in
tendencies that contributed to his third-place finish in the Fountain of Youth
S. (G2) last time out.

With Cornelio Velasquez aboard, the handsome bay scraped the paint along the
rail while attending the early pace of :23 1/5 and :47 1/5. Nobiz Like Shobiz
thrust his head in front through six furlongs in 1:10 4/5, but Any Given
Saturday (Distorted Humor) ranged up to deliver a stiff challenge at the top of
the Aqueduct stretch.

Showing far more professionalism in his new headgear, Nobiz Like Shobiz
repelled Any Given Saturday, and then had enough left to hold off the
hard-charging Sightseeing (Pulpit). Sent off as the 3-5 favorite, he completed 1
1/8 miles on the fast track in 1:49 2/5 to return $3.40, $2.60 and $2.10.

“Breaking inside, I tried to get him to relax,” Velasquez said. “He
was just pulling me the whole time. I liked that he really finished
good. He wasn’t really coming in today. He really ran straight today.”

“I think he was more focused today,” Tagg said. “Today, he showed up.
(Velasquez) throttled him back a little bit. I’m glad that he did. I
didn’t want him to get into a duel. I thought Cornelio handled
everything really well, and the horse handled everything really well. He
didn’t gallop away by 10, but he had a pretty well-bred horse chasing
him. He’ll be fine now. There were some immaturity things happening to
him, but he’ll get better each time.”

Sightseeing made an eye-catching move on the far turn to vault into
contention and sustained his bid through the stretch, finishing a clear
runner-up by 3 1/4 lengths. The 18-1 outsider paid $7.20 and $3.20 for his
efforts while ending the $26.80 exacta.

“I still think this horse has a ways to go,” trainer Shug McGaughey
said of Sightseeing. “He’s got some things to learn. I’ll talk to the
Phipps (the colt’s owners) and figure things out, but if you ask me
about the Kentucky Derby now, I would be inclined to say, ‘No.'”

Any Given Saturday checked in third,
giving back $2.10 to show as the 3-2 second choice and rounding out the $48.40 trifecta (2-3-1).

“I was disappointed in the last sixteenth of a mile,” conditioner
Todd Pletcher said of Any Given Saturday, who is definitely pointing to
the Derby. “He didn’t really polish it off. No real excuse, other than
just running the longest (racing wide throughout).”

It was another 4 3/4 lengths back to early pace factor Summer
Doldrums (Street Cry [Ire]), trailed by Reptilian Smarts (Include) and Flashstorm (Storm Cat), who also flashed speed for the first half-mile. Cowtown
Cat (Distorted Humor) was withdrawn, opting for a winning bid in Saturday’s
Illinois Derby (G2).