Southern California-based It Tiz Well will travel east for the $300,000 Delaware Oaks (G3) July 8 at Delaware Park, a 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies that also has attracted recent Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) winner Actress.
Tommy Town Thoroughbreds' It Tiz Well has a career record of three wins from seven starts with earnings of $286,840. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Arch won this year's Honeybee Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park—her only start outside of Southern California to date—and placed third in this year's Santa Anita Oaks (G1).
It Tiz Well will be making her first start since a troubled Summertime Oaks (G2) June 17 at Santa Anita Park where she finished fifth but was placed fourth after a disqualification.
"We did not have much luck in her last race, but she only got beat 2 1/2-lengths," said trainer Jerry Hollendorfer from his barn in southern California. "She has gone on the road and won a stake in Arkansas, we really did not have a dirt race for her here, so we are going to bring her to Delaware. We have had success in the past at Delaware and the purse is nice."
Hollendorfer has enjoyed great success shipping from southern California to Delaware. The 71-year-old native of Akron, Ohio, won the Delaware Oaks with the 3-year-old filly champion Blind Luck in 2010. The following year, he shipped her East again and defeated eventual 2011 Horse of Year Havre de Grace by a nose in the grade 2 Delaware Handicap. Hollendorfer also won the Delaware Handicap in 2008 with Hystericalady.
The Delaware Oaks will be televised live on Fox Sports 2 with an approximate post time of 6:35 p.m. EDT.
Awaiting It Tiz Well will be Gary and Mary West homebred Actress, who entered the May 19 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico Race Course as a maiden but emerged with a head victory over Lights of Medina. Actress is trained by Jason Servis and regular rider Nik Juarez, off to a fast start at Monmouth Park, will make the short trip to Delaware.
It Tiz Well and Actress have both been assigned 122 pounds while the other six fillies are each scheduled to carry 116.
Scheduled to make her stakes debut is Brereton Jones homebred Proud and Fearless, by Proud Citizen, who carries a three-race win streak from three different tracks by a combined margin of 13 1/4 lengths.
"She came to us a little late. We did not get her until we were at Keeneland in the fall," said trainer Larry Jones, who won the Delaware Oaks with Proud Spell in 2008. "She was just a very slow maturing filly. She had a pretty big frame on her, but was just not filling out. We kind of liked the way she travelled, but she was also a little slow mentally. She just did not act like she had a real purpose until after she broke her maiden. After that, it was like all of a sudden the lights came on."
Returning to stakes action in search of her first stakes victory will be Three C Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Robert Masiello's Berned. Trained by Graham Motion, the Kentucky-bred daughter of Bernardini enters off a promising allowance race win May 20 at Monmouth Park.
"I was impressed with her at Monmouth," said Motion. "She was coming off a little break and she did very well that day. Since that race, I have had this race in mind for her. This race just seems like a great fit her. It is local and it will give her plenty of time after her first start of the season."
Delaware Park, Saturday, July 08, 2017, Race 11Entries: Delaware Oaks (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1You Know Too (KY) Alex Cintron 116 Michael E. Gorham 10/1 2 2Proud and Fearless (KY) Brian Pedroza 116 J. Larry Jones 8/1 3 3It Tiz Well (KY) Drayden Van Dyke 122 Jerry Hollendorfer 8/5 4 4Modacious (KY) Frankie Pennington 116 John C. Servis 4/1 5 5Berned (KY) Feargal Lynch 116 H. Graham Motion 9/2 6 6Actress (KY) Nik Juarez 122 Jason Servis 5/2
