Tiago is taking on the best
Classic field awaits lightly raced bay
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Coinciding with the first Breeders' Cup in 1984, the economics of the horse industry have spiraled to dizzying proportions, and the high end of the thoroughbred world now is largely defined by stud fees measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars, unraced yearling prospects who are auctioned for millions, and stallions who are prematurely retired from racing for private syndicates whose values approach $100 million.
When top 3-year-olds Street Sense, Any Given Saturday, and Hard Spun cross the finish line in tomorrow's Breeders' Cup Classic, they will be whisked away to second careers as stallions, their breeding rights having been sold months ago. The nation's best 4-year-old, Lawyer Ron, is likely to soon join them (dependent on a recent out-of-court settlement that calls for retirement should he finish worse than second in two consecutive races), and European star George Washington is only back on the track this season because he proved infertile upon retirement after last year's Classic.
The consistent depletion of the sport's most recognizable names makes one wonder if the aim of the game is now racing to breed, rather than the other way around. It's also enough to instill a rooting interest in a late-developing Classic contender who is likely to return and race next season, and that maturing horse peaking at the right time could be Tiago.
Tiago is lightly raced but full of potential. The bay colt is 4 for 8 lifetime, with wins this year in the Santa Anita Derby, Swaps Stakes, and Goodwood Handicap, all in California. He also finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby. Yet the average fan still knows him better as the baby half-brother of Giacomo, who won the 2005 Derby at 50-1. Trainer John Shirreffs views the two as individuals, and cites the main factor as seasoning - or lack of it.
"Giacomo, the advantage was that he had campaigned," Shirreffs said Wednesday morning outside Barn 8 on the Monmouth Park backstretch. "Giacomo had run in a lot of races, run in big races. Tiago hadn't had that experience. [Jockey] Mike [Smith] said that when [Tiago] was standing in the gate [in the Derby], he was just looking at the crowd. It was overwhelming. It was overload. Since then, he's gotten a lot better.
"In the Derby, Mike had to ask him, had to get into him. I thought that having to do that, going a mile and a quarter with a young 3-year-old, it was terrific just finishing the race. He could have been last as easily as seventh, and then he galloped out strong. So each race since, he's kind of gotten into it more, he's more focused, a little more on the bridle. A horse has to take a rider certain places in races. A rider can't take the horse."
Shirreffs should know. The 62-year-old conditioner grew up around horses on a farm near Newfields, N.H., where his father bred thoroughbreds. After a stint in Vietnam with the Marines, Shirreffs ended up in California, where he took out his first training license in 1978. Known for his laid-back, calm demeanor and patience with his horses, it was not surprising that after this year's Derby, Shirreffs opted to skip the Preakness Stakes with Tiago and instead wait five weeks for the Belmont Stakes, in which he ran a respectable third.
Back in California another five weeks later, Tiago launched a back-of-the-pack bid to win the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park. He was pointed for the Pacific Classic in August, but Shirreffs abruptly scratched Tiago the day before that race, citing concerns with the new Polytrack synthetic surface at Del Mar that was considered slow, deep, and too taxing by numerous California horsemen. Shirreffs is well aware that artificial surfaces (mixtures of rubber, plastics, and wax-coated sand layered atop a special drainage system) seem to be the future of North American racing because of their ability to shed water and their perceived superiority in safety. But he wonders if the new tracks need more tweaking before they become widely accepted.
"That's a very political question," Shirreffs said. "Synthetic surfaces, in my opinion, are like the first generation of the new surfaces. So they need to get a little bit better to be good racing surfaces. At this point, they're good training surfaces, and something has to change to make them more consistent for racing. The temperature affects them so greatly, they're not really consistent. All the Cushion Tracks that I've been on have only become good racing surfaces when they mimic dirt, and by that I mean that they have 'bottom.' Horses always need a bottom to get a hold of the track, and if it doesn't have any bottom, then they feel a loose, deep track."
Tiago seemed to handle the Cushion Track at Santa Anita fine, winning his final prep for the Breeders' Cup Classic by a nose with another game finish. With a number of high-profile horses ranked ahead of him in the morning line, he's a 12-1 outsider for the Classic. But the plethora of speed horses who are likely to gun for the lead might tilt the running style in his favor.
"He's drinking a lot of water, he's eating well, and he's going out and handling the track very well. There's no reason to think that he wouldn't run his best race [tomorrow]," said Shirreffs.
But is his best race good enough to win? Do other horses have to stub their toes for Tiago to end up in the winner's circle in a $5 million race?
"I don't know about stubbing your toe, but always in these types of races you have to get a break somewhere," said Shirreffs. "Something has to happen to let your horse win. So I think if you get the right breaks, then we have a great shot."
Yesterday, the precipitation intensified, and word was that weather services were predicting a 100 percent chance of rain for today into tomorrow. With owners Jerry and Ann Moss looking on, Shirreffs sent Tiago out at 7:30 a.m. for a mile jog on a wet, but sealed, Monmouth dirt strip. There was cause for trepidation because Tiago has never raced nor seriously trained in the slop. "We're synthetic all the way [in California] right now," Shirreffs said. "So mud just doesn't exist."
When he saw an opening, Shirreffs gave exercise rider Frankie Herrarte the signal and they headed off for an easy spin. The skies were foreboding, but the horse seemed to relish the gooey going.
Back at the barn - four stalls down from Derby winner Street Sense - the exercise rider offered encouraging words when asked how Tiago took to the slop.
"Great. Super. He really liked it," Herrarte said.
Shirreffs was even more succinct: "Loved it."
"We expected that of him," the trainer added. "The way he's bred [Pleasant Tap out of a Stop the Music mare], you've got to figure he'd be OK out there. It doesn't tell you all you need to know; you won't get that until you race on it. But it's a good start."
The Monmouth Park buzz has been about how deep this year's Classic field will be, with a twinge of regret that so many stars are set to retire after the race. But Shirreffs wouldn't want to duck the competition en route to winning the continent's richest race, stating calmly that he has no qualms about having to beat the best to have thoroughbred racing's top-ranked horse going into 2008.
"Why would you want it any other way?" he said. "That's the way to win." 