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Tyson scoring in the Dominion Day. Under Rafael Hernandez June 1 at Woodbine. (Michael Burns Photo)
NYRA Press Office/Belmont at the Big A Notes
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup third-place finisher Tyson breezed five furlongs in 1:00.40 over the Tapeta surface at Woodbine Racetrack on Friday in preparation for a possible start in next Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Woodward for 3-year-olds and upward going nine furlongs at Belmont at the Big A.
Trained by Josie Carroll, Tyson made his dirt debut last out in the 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 2 at Saratoga Race Course, racing an even third down the backstretch and maintaining his position to finish 2 1/4 lengths behind the victorious Bright Future and late-closing runner-up Proxy. The gray son of Tapit earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.
“He worked great this morning,” Carroll said. “He’s a pretty uncomplicated horse when he breezes. He did everything we wanted. He finished up strong and he galloped out well, so I’m pretty happy with what he did.”
Prior to the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Tyson raced exclusively on synthetic, earning a career-high 101 Beyer when capturing the nine-furlong Grade 3 Dominion Day on July 1 at Woodbine before delivering a knockout performance to win the Grade 2 Seagram Cup four weeks later. Tyson boasts a consistent 6-4-0-2 record and earnings of $345,205.
“We gave him a try on the dirt in a pretty tough spot, and he rose to the occasion so we’re certainly exploring coming back again,” Carroll said. “It was his first time on that surface and first time going that distance. He ran with some nice horses and held his own.”
Tyson, a Kentucky homebred for Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Stretch Run Ventures, is out of the Smart Strike mare Honouring, whose dam Teeming was conditioned by Carroll. The Canadian conditioner also trained Honouring’s stakes-winning full-sibling Treasuring as well as a pair of half-siblings in stakes-winner Cascading and stakes-placed Distracting. All hail from the prominent bloodlines of Better Than Honour and Reine de Course mare Best in Show.
“I’ve had probably three generations of that family and they’ve all been really talented horses,” Carroll said. “That whole line has been horses with a lot of ability. They’re horses that stretch out and like the two turns.”
Carroll also spoke of MyRacehorse’s Duke of Love, who ran fifth beaten three lengths in the Jocky Club Gold Cup while earning a career-high 99 Beyer. The 4-year-old Cupid bay entered that effort unbeaten in two starts over conventional dirt, including the Grade 3 West Virginia Governor’s Cup on August 6 at Mountaineer Race Course as well as last year’s Prince of Wales at Fort Erie – the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Duke of Love also worked five furlongs on Friday, completing his move in 1:01.40, but will get some more time before making his next start, according to Carroll.
“Duke of Love, I thought, really moved up a step in his last race,” Carroll said. “He ran really well in the West Virginia race, and I think he moved up another step at Saratoga. He’s another one that I think is on an upward curve. He probably needs some more time in between, so we’ll probably wait a little bit with him to run him back.”
Bred in Ontario by Caldara Farm Inc., Patrick Costello, David Whitford, and Tom Zwiesler, Duke of Love was an $85,000 purchase of the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He is out of the unraced Smart Strike mare Tell the Duchess and comes from the same family as 1994 English Oaks and Irish Derby winner Balanchine as well as Group 1 winner West Wind.
Belmont at the Big A Week 3 Stakes Probables
Saturday, September 30
G1 JOE HIRSCH TURF CLASSIC
Probable: Astronaut (Tom Albertani), Grand Sonata (Todd Pletcher), Pioneering Spirit (Linda Rice), Rebel’s Romance (Charlie Appleby), Soldier Rising (Christophe Clement), Therapist (Mike Maker)
Possible: Cellist (Rusty Arnold)G2 WOODWARD
Probable: Algiers (Simon Crisford), Charge It (Todd Pletcher), Law Professor (Rob Atras), O’Connor (Saffie Joseph, Jr.), Zandon (Chad Brown)
Possible: Tyson (Josie Carroll)G2 VOSBURGH – BC WAYI
Probable: Cody’s Wish (Bill Mott), Great Navigator (Eddie Owens, Jr.)G2 GALLANT BLOOM
Probable: Beguine (Edward Allard), Caramel Swirl (Mott), Sterling Silver (Albertrani)Sunday, October 1
G2 PILGRIM – BC WAYI
Probable: Agate Road (Pletcher), Liam’s Journey (Maker), Spirit Prince (Clement), Tifareeh (Brendan Walsh), Tropandhagen (Dimitrios Synnefias)G2 MISS GRILLO – BC WAYI
Probable: Appellate (Pletcher), Camila T (Juan Carlos Avila), Dancing Spirit (Adam Rice), Dea Matrona (Brown), Gala Brand (Mott), Later Darling (Pletcher), Magic Cross (Mott), Memorialize (Graham Motion), Sierra Sky (Mark Casse)
