Breeders' Cup Focus: Tiago

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Dottie Ingordo has served as racing manager for Jerome and Ann Moss for more than 25 years. For her, one of the most exciting parts of the Thoroughbred business is watching a homebred weanling develop into a winning racehorse.

Ingordo saw it up close and personal with 2005 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) champion Giacomo, and now she is getting to experience the thrill all over again with multiple grade I winner Tiago. A half-brother to Giacomo, Tiago is one of nine horses pre-entered for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic-Powered by Dodge (gr. I) Oct. 27 at Monmouth Park.

“I was there the day he was born, and to watch him grow and progress has been fabulous,” said Ingordo, who is married to Tiago’s trainer, John Shirreffs. “I get to see him graze every day. It’s fun to watch him make the progression from a high school kid to a college kid to a pro. He has really muscled up.”

Tiago, by Pleasant Tap, out of Stop the Music mare Set Them Free, burst onto the 3-year-old scene this year by winning the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) in April. After finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby, the bay colt turned in an improved third-place performance in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I).

Since then, Tiago has really turned a corner, winning a pair of graded stakes in California, including the Sept. 29 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup (gr. I) at Santa Anita. Already having earned more than $1.1 million, he seems to be hitting his stride heading into the World Championships.

“It’s going to be fun to watch,” Ingordo said of the Breeders’ Cup. “Obviously, it is going to be a great field. It takes a lot of luck to win one. We’re excited because we can see it in his body that he is really finding himself as a horse.”

The Mosses, who run their operation out of Los Angeles, have had more than a dozen Breeders’ Cup starters since entering racing in the 1970s but have never had a winner. In 1993 Sardula, who went on to win the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), finished a head behind Phone Chatter in the Juvenile Fillies.

With more than 80 horses (30 in training), the Mosses have one of the most successful operations in racing. Most of the 23 broodmares they own are in Kentucky at Mill Ridge Farm, Brookdale Farm, and Crestwood Farm.

“Our goal is to be well-rounded; to do some breeding, some buying,” Ingordo said. “We try to have horses participate in the highest possible races. We’ve been very fortunate so far. Clearly, the Breeders’ Cup is still a goal for us.”

After the Breeders' Cup, Ingordo said Tiago will not race again in 2007 but will be back on the track next year.

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