Darley Stable’s TIZAQUEENA (Tiznow) broke from the 10 post, but that didn’t
stop the Michael Stidham charge from immediately grabbing command of Saturday’s
$150,000
Arlington Matron S. (G3). The dark bay mare was never headed in the
nine-furlong Polytrack co-feature at Arlington Park while setting pedestrian
fractions, eventually crossing under the wire two lengths clear as the 3-1
favorite
As soon as the gates opened, jockey E.T. Baird guided his mount over toward
the rail in a move that caused quite a bit of bumping and jostling among the
other contestants. Tizaqueena quickly settled into position, racing just off the
inside, through an opening split of :25 2/5. Haka (Dynaformer) pulled her way up
to draft in second just to the outside of Tizaqueena, who posted a half in :51
2/5 and six furlongs in a poky 1:16 3/5. She picked it up slightly when passing
through a mile in 1:41 and easily held all challengers when stopping the clock
in 1:53 3/5.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing but I was happy to see it,” Stidham
said of the fractions. “It was a classy, tough field and when she turned for
home after setting that kind of fractions, I had strong hopes for her. She
really kicked it in and held them off nicely.”
Tizaqueena returned $8.20, $4.40 and $3.40 while keying the $39.40 exacta and
$167.20 trifecta. Floating Heart (Giant’s Causeway) raced in midpack on the
backstretch and put in a game run to take second by a neck over Euphony (Forest
Wildcat), giving back $4.40 and $3.20 as the 3-1 second choice. Euphony, who
captured this event in 2009, was sent off as the 6-1 fifth choice in the
11-distaffer field and paid $4. Celtic Princess (Brz) (Public Purse) rounded out
the 11-1-2-4 superfecta that totaled $1,692.20.
Askbut I Won’ttell (Horse Chestnut [SAf]), Sweet and Flawless (Unbridled’s
Song), Home’s the Best (Western Playboy), Haka, Magical Theater (Smart Strike),
Peach Brew (Milwaukee Brew) and Souper Miss (Alphabet Soup) completed the order
under the wire after Hark (Street Cry [Ire]) was withdrawn.
Tizaqueena captured five of her first six starts, including Distaff Turf Mile
S. (G2) and Fortin H., but wouldn’t visit the winner’s circle again until eight
months later when adding the Allen Lacombe Memorial H. to her line in her 2010
debut. In the interim, the dark bay placed in the First Lady S. (G1), Mint Julep
H. (G3) and Modesty H. (G3). She followed her Lacombe victory with a head score
in the Bayou H., but was unable to defend her title in the Distaff Turf Mile
prior to this one, winding up fifth on the line. With this, her synthetic debut,
now under her girth, the five-year-old has racked up a 15-8-3-1 career mark to
go along with $630,118 in lifetime earnings.
Bred in the Bluegrass State by Stonerside Stable, Tizaqueena is the first
registered foal out of the winning Mr. Prospector mare Issaqueena, making her a
half-sister to an unraced two-year-old filly named Inaword (Successful Appeal)
and an unnamed 2010 filly by Indian Charlie as well as a full sister to an
unnamed yearling filly. Her second dam is Ziggy’s Act (Danzig), who captured the
1992 Pucker Up S. (G3) and would go on in the breeding shed to produce Grade
3-placed stakes winner Charley Tango (Maria’s Mon). This is the same family as
1984 Santa Barbara H. (G1) heroine Comedy Act (Shecky Greene), Grade 1-scoring
sire The Cliff’s Edge (Gulch), and Grade 3 victors King’s Nest (Rollicking),
Mister S. M. (Rollicking) and Hull (Holy Bull).