Tizzy In The Sky. (Walter Wlodarczyk)
By Mary Eddy
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – KimDon Racing’s Tizzy in the Sky stalked and pounced to a determined half-length victory for her first graded stakes win in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Go for Wand, a one-mile test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
In victory, jockey Flavien Prat tied a single-season stakes win record with his 79th stakes conquest of the year, matching Irad Ortiz, Jr.’s mark set in 2022. He now stands at 54 graded stakes wins this year, just one away from tying Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey’s record 55 in 2003. Among his wins this year were the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Sierra Leone and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf aboard Moira.
“It’s been a great season and I’m very grateful. It means a lot to me. Just looking back, it’s been a great year, and I hope I can get the record,” said Prat, who moved his tack to New York full time in the spring of 2022. “I decided to come to New York and get out of my comfort zone. I was hoping for a season like this and it’s great to just have the opportunity to break a record like this. It’s very meaningful.”
Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Tizzy in the Sky made a successful return from a six-month respite dating to an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford on June 8 at Saratoga Race Course. The 5-year-old daughter of Sky Kingdom built on previous stakes success in the local Listed Top Flight Invitational in April and a runner-up effort to Dr B in this event last year.
Tizzy in the Sky emerged alertly from the inside post as Stonewall Star stumbled badly to her inside and longshot Rachel’s Rock rushed up to take the lead exiting the chute, marking the opening quarter-mile in 22.89 seconds over the fast footing with the close pair of Tizzy in the Sky and Comparative 1 1/2 lengths back.
“We wanted her to be forward,” Pletcher said. “I thought Flavien made the right call when he opted to pop outside and stalk instead of continuing to press the pedal, that was a smart move.”
Prat coaxed Tizzy in the Sky to sweep up alongside Rachel’s Rock through the half-mile in 45.75 as Comparative commenced a three-wide bid under Manny Franco. Rachel’s Rock stalled at the top of the lane and a loaded Tizzy in the Sky stuck her head in front, but post time favorite Occult was finding her best stride from well off the pace and gaining quickly down the center of the course under Irad Ortiz, Jr. with three-quarters elapsed in 1:10.63.
Occult and her Chad Brown-trained stablemate Shidabhuti passed the tiring Comparative at the eighth pole while Movie Moxy came on the scene with a strong rally to make it three new challengers to Tizzy in the Sky. Occult drew nearer in the shadow of the wire, but ran out of ground as the game Tizzy in the Sky dug in for the win in a final time of 1:35.64.
Occult held second by a head over Movie Moxy with Shidabhuti completing the superfecta. Comparative, Rachel’s Rock, and the troubled Stonewall Star completed the order of finish. Ain’t Broke, who is entered in Sunday’s Garland of Roses here, was scratched.
Pletcher said he was pleased with the return effort after the mare spent her time off at Burke Equine.
“That was a huge effort. We sent her out to Stowe Burke’s for a little freshening in Saratoga and kind of had this in mind if everything went well,” Pletcher explained. “We had to rush a little bit to have her ready, but she is such a willing horse. She trains very well, and her breezes are strong with good gallop-outs. I was worried inside the eighth pole after those fractions that she could hold off some of the late closers, and to her credit, that was a big effort.”
Prat said Tizzy in the Sky was able to adapt to the pace scenario when Rachel’s Rock showed the way early.
“I thought I could be the pace, but we weren’t as fast as the other one outside of us, but she was right there and once we got into the turn, she was able to press on,” Prat said. “When I turned for home, she was looking around and I was hoping she didn’t have too much momentum. At the eighth-pole, they were coming, but it felt like she regrouped well.”
Pletcher added a potential target for Tizzy in the Sky could be the nine-furlong $150,000 Ladies on January 11 around two turns here. She now boasts a 5-for-8 record at the Big A.
“She loves it here,” Pletcher said. “I think she is even better around two turns here, but she overcame some pace pressure today and finished up well.”
Bred in Kentucky by Westrock Stables, Tizzy in the Sky is out of the Tiznow mare Tiz the Tide, with her second dam Lajitas being a half-sister to dual Grade 1-winner Colonel John. She improved her record to 13-5-4-0 and banked $110,000 in victory while returning $8.20 on a $2 win ticket.
Ortiz, Jr. said Occult, who made her first start since a runner-up effort to reigning Champion Older Dirt Female Idiomatic in the Grade 1 Spinster in October at Keeneland, was again admirable in defeat.
“She did good to get there for second, but she just missed getting it at the end,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “They were going pretty fast, and I thought she [Tizzy in the Sky] was going to come back a little. But she did a good job to win it. My horse is always competitive.”
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with a nine-race card, featuring the $135,000 Garland of Roses in Race 8. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.
America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
