Tizway, probable favorite for the Grade
1, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 1, continued his preparations for
the race, breezing five furlongs in 1:01.26 this past Friday over the
Oklahoma training track
at Saratoga Race Course, the fastest of five works at the distance.
“He’s doing great right now,”
said trainer Jim Bond. “He had a good five furlong workout and galloped out
strong. The current plan is to work him next Thursday or Friday, weather
permitting. In a perfect world he will have two more workouts prior to the Gold
Cup.”
Bond, who trains the 6-year-old
son of Tiznow for owner William Clifton, said that he will ship to
Belmont
Park the day of the race, as Tizway,
“likes to sleep in his own backyard.”
After going 1-for-8 in graded
stakes, taking last year’s Grade 2 Kelso Handicap at
Belmont, Tizway has put together consecutive Grade 1
victories: a 2 ¾-length triumph in the Metropolitan Handicap at
Belmont on May 30, and a tour-de-force three-length score
in the Whitney Invitational Handicap at
Saratoga on August 6.
Bond has repeatedly cited the
fact that Tizway is finally healthy as a key factor in his recent success, along
with his ability to train him on the
Oklahoma track for most of the year.
“When he’s healthy and you can
train him hard like I can now, that’s the key,” Bond said. “This horse is a
really good training horse in general, but the
Oklahoma track is a bit easier on him. He fits
here very well and I know what to look for. After 25-plus years of training
horses here I also know what the weather will do.”
He also credited NYRA’s track
maintenance team for keeping the surface in great condition.
“The track maintenance people up
here do an incredible job,” Bond said. “There was so much rain last week, but
the track was awesome on Friday. I have total faith in the people taking care of
the track.”
With his victories in the Met
Mile and Whitney, Tizway has vaulted to the top of the list of Horse of the Year
contenders. Bond, however, remains realistic about how quickly things can change
in racing.
“Winning Horse of the Year would
be fantastic, but one thing about this game is that you never know,” Bond said.
“It’s a game of inches and any day can be devastating. I just hope we make it
that far. That’s the bottom line. As long as I can keep training him hard I
think he will show up and do his thing.”
Although Tizway ran third, beaten
5 ½ lengths in the 2009 Jockey Club Gold Cup, his only career attempt going 1 ¼
miles, Bond is confident the distance won’t be a hindrance.
“The 2009 Jockey Club Gold Cup
was against Summer Bird and Quality
Road , two very good horses,” Bond said. “It poured
before the race, and he was stuck down on the fence with a lot of water. I’m
sold on his ability to get the distance, and someone will have to prove me
wrong.”