ARCADIA, Calif. – An attentive second to the quarter pole, Richard Mandella’s Tizamagician took charge from there as he romped to a massive nine-length win in Sunday’s Grade III, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup at Santa Anita. Ridden by Flavien Prat, the 4-year-old colt by Tiznow got a marathon mile and one half in 2:32.45.
With a backstretch start and a short run to the far turn, Edwin Maldonado, aboard Zestful, gunned his mount to the lead from his outside post, with Tizamagician content to sit a close second for the first mile and a quarter.
“I wanted the other horse to clear me, because you can’t take a hold of my horse,” said Prat, Santa Anita’s runaway leading rider with 87 wins and 15 added money triumphs. “He settled very nice and it looks like a mile and a half is a great distance for him.”
Second in last year’s Tokyo City on Sept. 27 and most recently fifth, beaten four lengths going a mile and one quarter in the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap on March 6, Tizamagician, who was paired for the first time today with Prat, picked up his first-ever stakes win and paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10 as the 3-5 favorite in a field of five older horses.
Owned by racing syndicate MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, LLC, Tizamagician picked up $60,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $287,851. With the win, Tizamagician, who is out of the Dixie Union mare Magic Union, improved his overall mark to 16-4-6-0.
“Not only does (the MyRacehorse syndicate) create people to own a piece of the horse, but they all have friends and the idea is, if they get their friends, they get people into racing and that’s what we need,” said Mandella, who along with Prat, collected his third career win in the Tokyo City Cup. “We need people here, it’s not the same without them. It’s so strange to win races and nobody is here to cheer and celebrate with. It means everything in the world that people are here.”
Off as the second choice at 7-2, Zestful was easily second, finishing 2 ¾ lengths in front of Lure Him In and paid $3.40 and $2.20.
Lure Him In, who was third throughout, finished 12 lengths in front of Ronamo and paid $2.20 to show with Juan Hernandez up.
Fractions on the race were 24.12, 47.87, 1:13.01, 1:38.66 and 2:05.18.
Santa Anita Press Release
Photo: Tizmagician (Benoit)
