Tiz the Law gets some Kentucky Derby points winning the Holy Bull stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Winning trainer Barclay Tagg (Tiz the Law): “His race was perfect. We told [jockey Manuel Franco] to ‘stay off the rail no matter what you have to do. Lose the ground and go around them.’ It worked out perfectly.”
“I was a little bit [worried about the forecast for rain]. You couldn’t tell if he didn’t have the kick [on a sloppy track] last time or whether they just kept him in and crowded so much that he couldn’t get away. I think it was more that than it was the track. You never know for sure, so why pray for rain.”
“We’ll try to stretch it out a little bit. They’re just young horses. We’ll probably go to Louisiana [for the March 21 Louisiana Derby (G2)], but I’m not sure.”
Winning jockey Manny Franco (Tiz the Law): “He ran like I expected him. He got out of there and I was able to decide where I wanted to be. For a second, I had to make the turn and I was back on the rail, but when I saw those guys putting pressure on I was able to drop back and get outside where I wanted to be. After that, he jumped in the bit and I was traveling like I wanted. You can see on the first turn, when I took him to the clear on the outside, he got comfortable. He jumped in the bit right away and after that he grabbed me. I was so happy. He galloped out good. When he felt the horses again, he wanted to go. I am so grateful and happy to be here and get the win.”
Winning owner Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga Stable (Tiz the Law): “Obviously, we were disappointed in Kentucky. Going in, we felt we had the best horse after he won the Champagne the way he did. He had a lot of things against him that day. [There was a] lot of buzz out there. ‘Well, he isn’t what we thought he was. He isn’t that good. What’s Manny doing riding him.’ I think he proved today he’s the horse we saw in the Champagne.”
“As you know, things can always change but we’re talking about going to the Louisiana Derby [March 21]. We loved his breeding when we bought him. We’re really excited to win this today. We didn’t get this done with Funny Cide. Seventeen years later here we are and thrilled to be here.”
Second-place jockey Luca Panici (Ete Indien): “He ran good. He ran good and I have no complaints at all. He was relaxed in front. He likes to be in front. He ran a really, really good race. It was a good performance.”
Third-place jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. (Toledo): “I had a perfect trip. I can’t complain. It was just two nice horses and I got beat today. He ran good and I think he will improve. He’s improving all the time.”
Via Gulfstream Park Press Release
