Tiz the Law lines up Kentucky Derby 2020 prep targets

Sackatoga Stable’s 2020 Kentucky Derby hopeful Tiz the Law returned to the work tab on Monday at the Palm Meadows Training Center with the New York-bred son of Constitution on schedule to begin his 3-year-old campaign in the Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

“We believe that he is talented enough to take us there,” Jack Knowlton, head of the partnership, said of the Derby. “We’re just trying to get to the right races with the right spacing and hopefully it will work out.” Tiz the Law, winner of the 2019 Champagne Stakes (G1), breezed four furlongs in 50.40 seconds in his first published work since a third-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) back on Nov. 30. “He’s been down there, been on the track, and we wanted to give him a little break from breezing,” Knowlton said. “He’s continued to thrive. He’s getting a little bigger and stronger. Off the first two races he showed us that he’s got an awful lot of ability.” While the first prep off the bench will keep Tiz the Law in the sunshine state, Knowlton shared that the race isn’t a means to an end in the Florida Derby (G1). Connections are more so looking at the March 21 Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds. “The Florida Derby would be an extra week (after the Holy Bull)...and we like that track,” Knowlton said of Fair Grounds. The same combination of Sackatoga Stable and trainer Barclay Tagg sent their eventual 2003 Derby winner, Funny Cide, to the Louisiana Derby as well. In 2020, the final prep will run at 1 3/16 miles, elongated from the traditional nine furlongs. “Funny Cide was under the radar,” Knowlton said. “Nobody really thought much about him until he won the (Kentucky Derby), quite honestly. He wasn’t really on the radar screen, even though he ran a big race in the Wood against Empire Maker. This time, after Tiz wins the Champagne, there was talk about if he could win in Kentucky he could win an Eclipse. And even after not winning (the Kentucky Jockey Club), he was the favorite in the first round of futures.” Knowlton added, “Nobody paid any attention to what we did, when we did it, why we did it with Funny Cide. Now every move we make or don’t make is recorded. He has a lot of fans and we set up a website for him, so people can stay informed. That is really different.” Tiz the Law broke his maiden against state-breds on Aug. 8 at Saratoga and followed that up with a four-length victory over Green Light Go in the Champagne despite a stumble from the gate. As the odds-on Kentucky Jockey Club favorite, he bobbled before the first turn, ran most of the race in the pocket and settled for third after given some room to run in the stretch over a sloppy, sealed track. “In the Champagne and even in Kentucky he got a hell of an education, because neither one of those were easy trips,” Knowlton said. “He answered a couple of questions. Even though he may not have relished it, he certainly can handle an off track. And it was the first time that he went two turns. So, we got a lot accomplished and he picked up two points.” The Holy Bull pays out qualifying points on a 10-4-2-1 scale to its Top 4 finishers. As a major prep, the Louisiana Derby is the earliest 100-40-20-10 race on the road to Churchill Downs.