Tagg questions Classic ride on Tiz the Law; Pegasus on radar

Sackatoga Stable’s 3-year-old colt Tiz the Law, a well-beaten sixth in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic, was fine on Sunday morning, trainer Barclay Tagg said.

Sent off as the 3-1 favorite from post two, Tiz the Law was stuck on the inside under jockey Manny Franco and never mounted a serious challenge to Authentic, who had beaten him by 1 1/4 lengths in the Kentucky Derby.

“(Franco) said he was rank on him,” Tagg said, before leaving for Florida early Sunday morning. “The winner was rank, and he should have just followed him around. I had him ready to run, but I can’t ride for them.”

Tiz the Law’s connections had recognized that having to start close to the rail might present a problem for the New York-bred son of Constitution. The Classic was the worst performance of Tiz the Law’s career and the first time he did not finish in the top three.

“Obviously, we were disappointed and kind of shocked that he didn’t end up better than he did,” Sackatoga’s operating manager Jack Knowlton said. “An inside trip was a concern. There were a lot of people when they saw the draw automatically said, ‘that’s a problem for this horse.’ When you are in the two-hole it’s awful hard to put yourself in a place where you can get outside of horses. Maybe that’s the story. I don’t think being on the rail was the ideal place.

“You’re not going to get what you want every time if they are in enough races," Knowlton said. "I guess it was our turn to not get the good trip. We won three Grade 1s and were second in the biggest race for 3-year-olds, and he had the trip every time.”

Knowlton said Tiz the Law will be shipped to Tagg’s barn at the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida on Wednesday. The goal is to have him ready for the Grade 1 Pegasus World Invitational Cup on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park.