The 14th Running of the Tiznow Stakes

February 21, 2022 17:30

SA Race #7 $100.000 1-Mile

CA-Bred 4+ 123 lbs (plus penalties)

Track Record-1:33.40 (One For The Road-2012)

Stakes Record-1:34.42 (First Down Dash-2021)

CA-bred older horses will be going one mile on the SA main track in the $100.000 Tiznow Stakes.  Five horses will tote the 123-pound minimum while Mr Charming and Jolly Rook will carry two pounds more.  Here is the field for the 14th running of the Tiznow Stakes:

#1 Pocantico (Mental Bloch Racing/A. Cedillo 123): Rail-horse is looking for his first win since August and will be making his debut for the new barn.  He has a ton of back class (BC Juvenile winner ’20) but he hasn’t been competitive too often lately.  Maybe the new barn can get more from him but we’re taking a wait-and-see approach.

#2 Itsallupfromhere (Night Rider Stables/M.E. Smith 123): 4yo will be making his stakes debut in the 12th start of his career.  ’22 bow saw him flash speed before fading to finish 4th and he hasn’t visited the WC in over a year.  Still, his speed makes him dangerous, but a minor award may be his ceiling in here.

#3 Buckskin (John Henry/J.J. Hernandez 123): 5yo will be making his seasonal bow for a new barn after ending ’21 on a two-race winning streak.  He was running in better company as a sophomore but spent last season knocking around the overnight ranks.  Looks like he’ll attempt to run them down late and have a feeling he’ll be right there at the end.

#4 Mr Charming (Fractious/Ru Gonzalez 125): 6yo should enjoy the class relief as he makes his first start of the season but will have to carry a couple pounds extra in here.  Two pounds seems innocent enough given the company he has kept, and this feels like one of the ones.  May need the pace to be hot to show his best but his best would certainly put him right in the mix.

#5 Fallacious (Nakamura Stables/J. Bravo 123): 5yo took three unsuccessful swings at graded company to end ’21, but this looks to be in his wheelhouse.  He’s blessed with early foot so expect him to be right among the leaders early, if not setting the pace himself.  Training like a monster and have to expect he fires big on Monday.  Definite win contender.  

#6 Jolly Rook (Angelos Stable/J.R. Velazquez 125): Not sure what happened last month at GP, but this guy is usually as honest as they come.  Expect we can draw a line through that one and he will be back to his normal self for this.  The impost is a bit of a concern but don’t feel like that disqualifies him from winning this.  He does have a propensity for being the bridesmaid, but, if he can find a bit more determination, he can beat this group.  Contender.

#7 Code Red Party (Martyparty/E. Maldonado 123): 4yo is the most intriguing horse in the race as he will be stretching-out for the first time in his career.  The one time he went 7-panels he wired a G3 group, so we know he has the ability to beat quality horses.  If nothing else, he’s going to have a say in how fast they go early, and an outside draw for a horse with speed is sometimes a good thing.  The problem is he could be three-wide (or more) for a significant portion of the race if he does not clear.  Your call.

Final Analysis: 3-5-4-6 in a Tiznow Stakes that could go any number of ways.  Good luck everyone! 

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES