Trainer James Bond continues to be delighted with two-time Grade 1 star
TIZWAY (Tiznow), who Friday breezed five furlongs in a bullet 1:01 1/5 over
Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track in advance of the October 1 Jockey Club Gold
Cup (G1).
“He’s doing great right now,” Bond said. “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 six-year-old 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 one-for-eight in graded stakes, taking last year’s Kelso H. (G2)
at Belmont, Tizway has put together consecutive Grade 1 victories: a 2
3/4-length triumph in the Metropolitan H. (G1) at Belmont on May 30, and a
tour-de-force three-length score in the Whitney Invitational H. (G1) 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 onto 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 1/2 lengths in the 2009 Jockey Club Gold
Cup, his only career attempt going 1 1/4 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.”