by Vance Hanson
One year after giving futile chase to Quality Road in the $500,000
Metropolitan H. (Grade 1), William Clifton Jr.’s Tizway reached the winner’s circle at the conclusion of the historic
one-mile fixture following an emphatic
display over 10 rivals in Belmont Park’s traditional Memorial Day feature. Under
Rajiv Maragh, the James Bond-trained veteran showed speed from post 11 and
pressed Tackleberry down the backside, seized control from that one
approaching the quarter pole, drew off to lead by four lengths a furlong out
and coasted across the wire 2 3/4 lengths in front of longshot Rodman. The final time of 1:32.90 was .09 seconds off the stakes record set by Honour and Glory in 1996.
The 3-1 favorite, Tizway was a half-length off Tackleberry through a modest
opening split of :23, but applied pressure to that rival in the second quarter as the half was
reached in :45 2/5. Unable to sustain that pace, Tackleberry began to weaken
around the far turn while Tizway was always in hand for Maragh as he opened up a
length through six furlongs in a blistering 1:08 3/5. Threats from behind failed
to materialize in the stretch as Tizway opened up under hand encouragement and held a safe
margin to the finish. Tizway returned $8.20, $5 and $3.90.
“It was a great trip,” Maragh said. “He was always running for me — I really
didn’t have to do much, just get him going at the right time and he held off
pretty fine. It was pretty straight forward — I broke out of the gate, I just
ran a straight line, dropped in a little when I went to the turn, gave my horse
the cue and he was always into the bridle. He was ready. He was really ready.
“We went off decent in the first quarter and then we just gradually started
picking up, and that’s running into my horse’s style. He’ll kill you with a high
cruising speed, that’s what his weapon is.”
Rodman, the longest shot in the field at 36-1, raced in ninth down the
backside and finished full of run in the stretch with an inside rally. He was 5
1/2 lengths clear up Caixa Eletronica, who had two lengths on Aikenite, with Haynesfield, Stormy’s Majesty, Soaring Empire, Ibboyee, Tackleberry, Yawanna Twist and Kensei completing the
order of finish.
“I’ll probably look at the (August 6) Whitney (H. [Grade 1]),” Bond said. “It’s
our home base. We’ll back up from the Breeders’ Cup and basically start looking
backwards and try to find the right spots for him. I know this horse will run a
mile and a quarter. It depends on what kind the horses are at the end of the
year. You and I all know what can happen.”
Tizway took six tries to break his maiden, at last checking that box with a
front-running success on Woodbine’s Polytrack in June 2008. He was not seen in
action again until April 2009, when he resurfaced to crush an entry-level
allowance at Aqueduct by 7 3/4 lengths. After a 7 1/2-length rout in a
second-level allowance/optional claimer at Belmont last summer, Bond pitched
Tizway into the Whitney at Saratoga, and he wasn’t disgraced when tiring
to fourth. Next time out, Tizway finished third to champion Summer Bird and
Quality Road in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (Grade 1). He then took a crack at the Japan
Cup Dirt (Group 1), but threw in a rare clunker in 12th.
Last season, Tizway won an Aqueduct allowance then ran third to Quality Road
in the aforementioned Met Mile. Out of action until October due to a fractured
wingbone, Tizway crushed his Kelso H. (Grade 2) rivals by five lengths in his return
before finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (Grade 1). He preceded this win
with third-place efforts in the Gulfstream Park H. (Grade 2) and Charles Town Classic
(Grade 3) earlier this year. His record now stands at 19-6-1-5, $909,274.
Bred by Whisper Hill Farm in Kentucky, Tizway was purchased by his current
owner for $140,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The six-year-old is a
half-brother to multiple Grade 3-placed stakes heroine Ticket to Seattle
and a yearling filly by Elusive Quality, and had a full brother born
this year.
Tizway’s dam, the unraced Dayjur mare Bethany, is a half-sister to one of
Bond’s past stable stars, Will’s Way, winner of the 1996 Travers S. (Grade 1) and the
1997 Whitney. Bethany is also a half-sister to Willa on the Move, whose signature score came in the 1988 Ashland S. (Grade 1). Also close up in
the family are Grade or Group 3 winners Undermine, Holberg
and Acceptable, the latter runner-up in the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
(Grade 1). Tizway’s fourth dam is Lauries Dancer, the 1971 Canadian Horse of the Year
in the wake of victories in such events as the Alabama S., Delaware Oaks,
Canadian Oaks and Bison City S.