Tizway continues his work towards the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park
Everything is falling in to perspective for the 6-year-old Tizway, probably the favourite to win the Grade 1 $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup on 1 October, 2011.
The golden horse, conditioned by James Bond, continued his preparations for the race, breezing five furlongs on 9 September at the Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track in 1 minute and 1.26 seconds.
It was the fastest of five workouts that day, over a distance of five furlongs, as the William Clifton Jr. owned horse continues to prepare for the the all important Belmont Park’s featured race next month.
The leader of the handicap division, Tizway, will face off the likes of Grade 1 Travers Stakes' winner, Stay Thirsty, among other Travers Stakes' opponents in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Tizway would feel comfortable going back to Belmont Park, where he won the first race of his 2011 season, the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap (Met Mile) on dirt over a distance of 1 mile on 30 May, 2011.
It was a close battle between Tizway, Rodman and Caixa Eletronica, but Tizway in the end came out as te victor, and completed the one mile in 1 minute and 32.90 seconds under jockey Rajiv Maragh.
His season at the Spa consisted of a single race, and that too the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap over a distance of 1 1/8 miles on 6 August, 2011.
The dirt horse took on males ranging from 4 years and beyond, but the significant threat came from Giant Oak and Flat Out. However, Tizway on his own is a threat to anyone who poses as a threat to him, and this on 6 August it was no different.
Tizway romped past all of them to win the 1 1/8 mile event in 1 minute and 52.43 seconds.
Before the Whitney win, Tizway wasn’t considered a distance horse, because he has mostly run over a distance of one mile which resulted in his five wins in 2010, but he proved everyone wrong as he conquered the 1 1/8 mile.
Now he will be contesting on the classic 1 ¼ mile, with the likes of Shackleford, Ruler on Ice, Stay Thirsty, Mission Impazible, Apart, Rail Trip, Giant Oak, Hymn Book and Haynesfield to complete the Jockey Club Gold Cup line-up, some old rivals for Tizway
to contend with.
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