IN a highly unusual year for everything, the first leg of the US Triple Crown, a most sought-after achievement, was the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and it was won by Tiz The Law. Extending his unbeaten sophomore season to three victories, following successes in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes and the Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby, the son of Constitution (Tapit) has now won five of his six starts and has earnings just short of $1.5 million. The bay won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at two.

Tiz The Law is from the first crop of Constitution who stood this year for $40,000 at WinStar. They raced him in partnership with Twin Creeks Farm. This is a big jump from the mere $15,000 he cost last year, and that had dropped from his starting fee of $25,000.

In common with his best runner to date. Constitution also won the nine-furlong Florida Derby. That was in 2014. Unraced as a juvenile, his second season racing brought success in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap. His five stakes winners in his first crop also include the Grade 2 winning two-year-old Amalfi Sunrise and a trio of Grade 3 winners. Another stakes-performer is his son Gouverneur Morris who was runner-up last year in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity.

Tiz The Law was bred by Steve Davison’s and Randy Gullatt’s Twin Creeks Farm in Kentucky and they purchased his Grade 2-winning dam Tizfiz (Tiznow) for $125,000 in foal to Mineshaft (A.P.Indy) at the 2014 Keeneland November Sale. Her Tapit filly on the ground that year realised $525,000 at the following year’s Keeneland September sale and went on to be stakes-placed. Tizfiz is also dam of the winning filly Tizn’tshebeautiful (Uncle Mo).

Twin Creeks stands a number of stallion and one of them is Mission Impazible (Unbridled’s Song). He is the sire of a two-year-old half-sister to Tiz The Law, named Angel Oak and set to be raced by Twin Creeks, and a yearling half-brother. Not surprisingly, Tizfiz was covered by Constitution this year

Tizfiz won the nine-furlong Grade 2 San Gorgonio Stakes at Santa Anita, the best of seven wins that included three other stakes races. She is one of three stakes winners from the winning four-year-old Gin Running (Go For Gin). That trio included Tizfiz’s own-brother Fury Kapcori (Tiznow), a graded stakes winner of six races and runner-up to Violence in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity. The first crop of Fury Kapcori are three-year-olds and in January he sired his first stakes winner.

Favorite Trick

Gin Running is a daughter of the stakes-placed Crafty And Evil (Crafty Prospector), a half-sister to Favorite Trick (Phone Trick) and to the dam of the dual Grade 1 winner Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon).

In 1997 Favorite Trick became the first two-year-old in 25 years to be voted Horse of the Year in the USA, after Secretariat. Undefeated in eight starts in his first season, Favorite Trick won the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by five lengths in a race record time.

At three Favorite Trick, owned by Frank Stronach, opened his second season with a win in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park, but in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, his first attempt at nine furlongs, he suffered his first defeat. Favorite Trick started as second choice in the betting for the Kentucky Derby behind Indian Charlie. However, there was to be no fairy-tale ending and he finished eighth in the 15-runner field behind Real Quiet.

He did not contest either the Preakness or Belmont Stakes. He added three more stakes wins and ended his racing career as the winner of 12 of his 16 starts.

Favorite Trick went to stud at Walmac International in Kentucky and, while he sired 16 stakes winners, overall he was a failure as a stallion and ended his days siring Quarter Horses also. Tragically, at the age of 11, he perished in a barn fire in New Mexico.

Gamine

There was no shortage of Grade 1 action in the US at the weekend, and a number of other impressive performances.

Gamine, a three-year-old daughter of Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday), did not race at two, but she is making up for that in quick time, and with some aplomb. She made her third start of 2020 in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Belmont, her first venture into stakes company, and romped home in the fastest time ever for the race, and almost 19 lengths clear of the field.

It was somewhat ironic that Gamine did not race at two, given that she topped the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Old sale when selling for $1.8 million, well ahead of her $220,000 yearling purchase price at Keeneland. Gamine is the sixth Grade 1 winner and 70th blacktype winner from the first eight crops of Into Mischief, sire of Breeders’ Cup winners Covfefe and Goldencents.

Gamine is one of two winners out of the stakes-placed, two-time winner Peggy Jane (Kafwain). That mare shares the same grandam as the Canadian champion turf runner Dynamic Sky (Sky Mesa).

Animal Kingdom

Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup winner Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux) now stands in Japan, following his sale there at the end of 2019. At the weekend he sired his first northern hemisphere Grade 1 winner when the Australian-born Oleksandra won the Jaipur Stakes. Animal Kingdom, a shuttle sire between Arrowfield Stud and Darley’s Jonabell in Kentucky, had previously sired the 2019 Group 1 Australian Derby winner Angel Of Truth.

In 2013 Animal Kingdom became the first Kentucky Derby winner to launch his stud career in Australia. He is the sire of 12 stakes winners and worldwide his progeny have earned more than $15.8 million. He was crowned champion three-year-old colt in the USA.

Oleksandra is the best runner for her dam Alexandra Rose, a South African-bred daughter of Caesour (Nureyev). She won the Group 2 Golden Slipper at Durban and the Grade 3 Monrovia Handicap at Santa Anita, and she was runner-up in the Group 1 Cape Fillies Guineas. She is one of four stakes winners from her Italian-winning dam Alexandra Bi (Darshaan).

No Parole

The Grade 1 two-year-old winner Violence (Medaglia D’Oro) sired his second winner at the highest level at the weekend when his three-year-old son No Parole landed the Woody Stephens Stakes at Belmont, This was the Louisiana-bred’s fifth win in six starts, and his second stakes success. No Parole is one of more than 25 stakes winners for Violence whose son Dandy Del Barrio was a Group 1 winner in his native Argentina last November.

No Parole is the first Grade 1 winner in four generations of his female family. An own-brother to the multiple winner Violent Ways (Violence), they are out of the minor stakes winner Plus One (Bluegrass Cat). That mare’s grandam Star Deputy (Deputy Minister) bred the four-time Grade 3 winner License Fee (Black Tie Affair) and is grandam of the Grade 2 Illinois Derby winner Greeley’s Galaxy (Mr Greeley).