Kitty in a Tizzy invaded Arlington Park to capture the $150,000 Chicago Handicap (gr. III) June 30, shipping in from the New York barn of trainer H. James Bond and earning her first graded victory for owner William L. Clifton Jr (VIDEO).
With Arlington's leading rider Francisco Torres in the irons, the 5-year-old daughter of Tiznow covered seven furlongs on the Polytrack in 1:23.49. She closed from third to get the score by one length after sitting off a pace set by Honey Chile, who led through quick fractions of :22.60, :44.86, and 1:09.96 while tracked by Lady Chesterfield.
"When I eased her out turning for home with those two in front of me who were going pretty decent fractions, it was just a matter of when I was going to push the button on her," Torres said. "The race developed well and it paid off."
Kitty in a Tizzy, who has been training at Saratgoa Race Course, has made nine of 16 lifetime starts on all-weather surfaces. She picked up her third win and extended her career bankroll to $265,783. She was bred in Kentucky by Dr. Stephen Jackson, Debbie Jackson, and TNT Stud and is out of the Storm Cat mare Puma Kitten.
"She's a Polytrack specialist," said Kevin Bond, who saddled the winner for his father. "We were kind of hoping for the right condition. It opened up here and here we came."
Maude S, the 19-10 post time favorite, rallied from far back to get second in the eight-horse field, 1 1/2 lengths clear of Ariana D.
"We got too far back but that's her style; you can't change it," said trainer Jim DiVito. "The winner was the best horse anyway."
Jockey Willie Martinez, who finished third on Ariana D, said, "She tried. They went out quick early. She tried to make her move like she always does. The problem with her is that you always have to keep her in the clear, so that made me lose a little bit of ground. I'm not taking anything away from the winner but I might have been closer, maybe second. But she gave it her all, she always does."
Kitty in a Tizzy paid $11.80, $4.40 and $3.20 as the third choice. Maude S returned $3.40 and $2.60, and Ariana D brought $2.60. Honey Chile, Lady Chesterfield, Hemera, Dontbeshy I'll Buy, and Lunar Mist completed the order of finish. Brilliant Future was scratched.
Kitty in a Tizzy rolls home to win the Chicago Handicap.
