Classic Followup: Tiznow May Contest World Cup

From Staff and Breeders' Cup Notes Team Reports

Trainer Jay Robbins said Breeders' Cup Classic winner Tiznow would be pointed toward the two legs of the Strub series that are run at Santa Anita to begin his 4-year-old campaign in 2001.

Robbins and his wife Sandy stopped by Barn 17 before heading back to California Sunday morning to check on the Breeders' Cup Classic winner.

"Look at him. He's just like a big kid," Sandy Robbins said. "He must have had 500 carrots last night. He thought he was the host of the party. He acts like one of those 22-year-olds who can go on all day and all night."

A good part of the day Sunday was to be spent in the air as Tiznow was scheduled to leave Churchill Downs and ship back to his base at Santa Anita.

"We're headed out so we can meet him back there," said Jay Robbins, a trainer for 31 years. "Yesterday was the biggest," Robbins said. "I had won a couple of Strubs and a Jockey Club Gold Cup, but not anything like this."

In addition to the Strub series, Tiznow's itinerary could also include the Dubai World Cup, according to co-owner Michael Cooper.

Giant's Causeway, who fell just a neck short in the Classic, will be retired to stud at Coolmore in Ireland.

"He ran a great race," said trainer Aidan O'Brien. "At one point while he was making his run, the jockey (Mick Kinane) had to ease back on the reins, and the horse eased himself. When Mick started riding again, Giant's Causeway got right back into it. He'll keep running as long as the jockey keeps riding."

Trainer Nick Zito said he was pleased with the Classic effort by Albert the Great, who will be given a rest after his fourth-place finish Saturday.

"I was very happy with the way he ran," Zito said. "He put in a phenomenal race. He has been a very consistent horse, and he has beaten all of the Triple Crown race winners this year. He beat the Belmont winner (Commendable) in the Travers. He beat the Preakness winner (Red Bullet) in the Dwyer and he beat the Kentucky Derby winner (Fusaichi Pegasus) yesterday."

Albert the Great and Zito's other Breeders' Cup runners will remain at Churchill and await the opening of Gulfstream Park's stable area.

Fusaichi Pegasus, the Kentucky Derby winner who finished sixth as the Classic favorite, was scheduled to be vanned to Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky. Sunday afternoon. He enters stud there next year.

"Fusaichi Pegasus, unfortunately, was shuffled quite a bit," said trainer Neil Drysdale. "In hindsight, (jockey Kent) Desormeaux should have gone along instead of trying to get him to relax. But that's hindsight. Most things are crystal clear a day after the race."

Meanwhile, Lemon Drop Kid was loaded onto a van Sunday morning for the trip to Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky., where he will enter stud next year for a $100,000 stud fee.

"It was tough to say good-bye to him, but he's ready for the breeding shed," said Schulhofer who was en route to Aiken, S.C. to celebrate his mother's birthday. Hazel Schulhofer will be 101 on Monday.

"To me, he is the Horse of the Year," Schulhofer said of the fifth-place finisher in the Classic. "Who else would you vote for? You could maybe make a case for Tiznow, but after that, who else? Lemon Drop Kid accomplished more than anybody this year. He fought every fight and didn't duck anyone."

Lemon Drop Kid retires with a record of 10 wins, three seconds, and three thirds from 24 starts and earnings of $3,474,770.

Trainer Joe Orseno said that last-place Classic finisher Golden Missile sustained numerous superficial cuts on his ankles and hocks as a result of being bumped as the field rounded the first turn.

Orseno said Golden Missile would now be pointed for the $350,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Nov. 25

"He had a really rough trip in the Classic and never got a chance to run," Orseno said of the Pimlico Special winner. "You should see him, he has nicks all over his body and a huge abrasion across his hock. We treated him last night, and he was sound this morning. It's a shame he couldn't put his run in. This was supposed to be his last race of the year, but he is doing so well that we decided to run back in the Cigar Mile."

According to Orseno, Golden Missile will ship to New York on Thursday.

Cat Thief, seventh in the Classic, will enter stud next year at Overbrook Farm near Lexington, Ky.

Pine Dance, The 3-year-old colt who ran 10th in the Classic, will return to Ireland Monday, where trainer Dermot Weld will prepare him for a start in the Japan Cup Dirt at Tokyo Racecourse on Nov. 25.