Since the series’ inception in 1984, there have been 41 Breeders’ Cup Classic winners.
But only one Tiznow.
When you consider all the great horses that have competed in the coveted Class 1 stakes – champions like Cigar, American Pharoah, Alysheba and Curlin – Tiznow was the only one with the right amount of class, durability and longevity to win the race twice.
As a three-year-old in 2000 and then again in 2001, the California-bred stallion peaked at the right time and put in a performance strong enough to beat the best horses in the world.
Yes, the world, because in both of his Breeders’ Cup victories, Tiznow defeated rivals from Europe. In the second of the two, Tiznow bravely defeated none other than a rival to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Sakhee in the 2001 event at a tense Belmont Park, less than two months after the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
For those present, it was an unforgettable race day with a performance that is still unparalleled.
“To be completely honest, I thought I was riding for second place after Sakhee passed me with so much speed,” said jockey Chris McCarron, who rode Tiznow in both Breeders’ Cup wins. “But Tiznow outsmarted him.”
Like so many champions before him, Tiznow’s first race was hardly memorable.
Tiznow, a homebred son of Cee’s Tizzy, trained by Jay Robbins and owned by his breeder, Cecilia Straub-Rubens, and Mike Cooper under the Cees Stable banner, finished an unremarkable sixth place at odds of 13.80-1 in his career debut at Santa Anita Park on April 22, 2000.
He was then an improved second and broke his maiden in his third attempt, scoring by an eye-opening 8 ½ lengths at the now closed Hollywood Park.
The impressive maiden victory inspired Robbins so much that he entered Tiznow in the Grade 3 Affirmed Handicap on July 1 and his faith was rewarded with a neck victory over the favored Dixie Union.
The natural progression was to the Grade 1 Swaps Stakes on July 23, also at Hollywood Park, and Tiznow settled for second behind Captain Steve.
Robbins continued to give Tiznow bigger challenges when he chose to field the California-bred older horses in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Once again Tiznow put in an excellent performance as he finished second to Skimming by two lengths.
Returned to the 3-year-old company, Tiznow ran in the Grade 1 Super Derby and won by six lengths. Two weeks later he returned in the Grade 2 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap, beating Captain Steve by half a length to become a leading contender for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
When the focus of the sport shifted to Churchill Downs for the Breeders’ Cup, Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus was still considered the best 3-year-old and was sent off as a 6-5 favorite even though he had run only once since the Preakness in May.
While Fusaichi Pegasus’ best day had come six months earlier at Churchill Downs, Tiznow was in brilliant form and the battle between the two three-year-olds proved to be a mismatch.
When Fusaichi Pegasus failed to shoot and finished sixth and 1999 Classic winner Cat Thief fell to seventh in his attempt to win an encore, the $4 million stake turned into a thrilling duel between Tiznow and Europe’s Giant’s Causeway, owned by Michael Tabor and Susan Magnier.
After Tiznow battled Albert the Great for the early lead, the California-bred put his fellow three-year-old away and then braced for a strong challenge from Giant’s Causeway.
The European took Tiznow on pole eight and for that final furlong the pair raced as a team, heads bobbing for the lead. But when McCarron needed it most, Tiznow dug in and never let Giant’s Causeway get past him, winning by a neck at odds of 9.20-1.
Tiznow was rewarded for his exploits with Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Male awards, but unfortunately Straub-Rubens was unable to enjoy that moment as much as she passed away two days after the Breeders’ Cup.
Tiznow returned to the races at four and struggled with a back injury for much of the year.
He won two of five starts for the Breeders’ Cup and took the Grade 2 San Fernando Breeders’ Cup Stakes to start in 2001, but he then finished second in the Grade 2 Strub Stakes at Santa Anita. A win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap seemed to have him on the right track, but he spent six months on the sidelines.
The comeback race for him was the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park, a sort of dress rehearsal for the Breeders’ Cup. Tiznow was a rusty third behind Lido Palace and Albert the Great and then finished third again, behind the 39-1 longshot Freedom Crest and Skimming, at the Goodwood in his final Breeders’ Cup preparation.
Tiznow’s training for the Breeders’ Cup was certainly eventful, as during one of his final workouts he refused to run for 30 minutes. When he was finally motivated to start riding, he completed a mile in a blistering 1:35 3/5.
The setting for the 2001 Breeders’ Cup at Belmont Park on October 27 was unlike any other in the history of the series. The country was still reeling from the despicable destruction of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, a horrific tragedy that could be seen from the roof of Belmont Park. In New York, there was a mix of tension, fear, anger and courage as the city came together to rebuild, move forward and never forget.
Three days earlier, President George W. Bush famously threw out the first pitch for Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, and Belmont Park opened the gates for the Breeders’ Cup with a massive police presence. SWAT team members and bomb-sniffing dogs stood outside the track. There were snipers, soldiers and police with assault rifles just under the long roof of the track, near the press box.
If there were concerns at the time about holding the event in New York, they proved unfounded. The event went smoothly and was therapeutic for those who called the area home.
The racing was great and it was a big day for the European contingent, with Banks Hill winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, Johannesburg prevailing in the Juvenile and Fantastic Light proving to be the best in the Turf.
Still, the best was saved for the final and decisive Breeders’ Cup race.
The surprise participants were two Europeans, Sakhee and Tabor of Godolphin and Galileo of Magnier. Sakhee, who had won the Arc, seemed like a logical choice for the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but instead, trainer Saeed bin Suroor chose to steal a page from the Giant’s Causeway playbook and tried to beat America’s best horses on their favorite surface, dirt.
The buzz around the track was that Sakhee was not riding on a surface that was new to him, but that turned out to be nothing more than gossip.
This time Tiznow took third early as Orientate and Albert the Great helped break up the early factions. At the top of the stretch, Sakhee passed Tiznow from the outside, as the 2000 Classic winner looked defeated in his battle between Sakhee and Albert the Great. Then, in one of the most remarkable battles in Breeders’ Cup history, Tiznow came alive and surged to a slim lead on the sixteenth pole, then held Sakhee at bay the rest of the way and won by a slender but courageous nose.
In the California-bred’s final race, he put in a spectacular performance that ranks among the Breeders’ Cup’s biggest races.
Finally, there was a back-to-back winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic and nothing has changed since.
There is only one horse that has done that, and that is Tiznow.
Note: This story was first published in November 2018 and has been updated.
FUN FACTS
- Tiznow raced 15 times, winning eight times, adding four seconds and two-thirds and earning $6,427,830.
- He was the top earner among California-bred animals until he was passed by California Chrome.
- Tiznow was voted 2001 Older Male Champion.
- At the end of the 2001 National Football League season, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick showed his team a video of Tiznow’s victory in the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Classic after a loss. They didn’t lose another game after that and eventually won the Super Bowl against the St. Louis Rams.
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