Tiz Possible Dear comes off the bench to win Millions Distaff
MIAMI – It came as no surprise that trainer Peter Walder and owner Paradise Farm Corp. won Saturday’s $60,000 Millions Distaff with a filly they recently added to the barn via the claim box. After all, when the entries came out, the red-hot Cory Gal looked like one of the top contenders, perhaps the favorite, in the six-furlong dash for Florida-bred fillies and mares.
In the end, however, it was not Cory Gal posing in the winner’s circle after the race but Tiz Possible Dear, who proved a very capable substitute for her stablemate, who had to be scratched from the Distaff due to a minor foot issue. Tiz Possible Dear wired the field under jockey Paco Lopez to register a 2 1/2-length decision over the recently graded stakes-placed Sound Machine.
Walder had claimed Cory Gal for $25,000 out of a one-sided victory on Sept. 12 at Gulfstream Park. He acquired Tiz Possible Dear via the same route six days earlier for a bargain $16,000, also out of a winning effort at Gulfstream.
“She was kind of obvious off her form and had run a big number on the Ragozin sheets the start prior to when we claimed her, and my owner is a big sheets guy,” Walder said of claiming Tiz Possible Dear. “But we didn’t claim her with this race in mind. The thought was to run her back against first-level statebred company.”
Tiz Possible Dear finished sixth going five furlongs over a sloppy track in her first start for her new connections before bouncing back with a 1 3/4-length decision over similar company on a wet strip when stretched to 6 1/2 furlongs 22 days later.
“I ran her back too short and probably too quick the first time,” Walder said. “Even after she won her next start, I really had no intention of entering her in the Distaff. But the racing office said the nominations were coming up light for the race, so I nominated and ultimately entered her for protection in case something happened to Cory Gal, who probably would have been the favorite the way she’d won her last two.”
Walder said he was so distraught once he realized he had to scratch Cory Gal that he almost passed the Distaff with Tiz Possible Dear as well.
“Not only did I have a foot issue with Cory Gal, I have one with Fast Pass, who I also train for Paradise, and which is going to keep him out of the Claiming Crown, which we’ve pointed to since the spring,” Walder said. “Fortunately, Tom Flynn, who serves as racing manager for Paradise, told me to quit being depressed about the one who wasn’t running Saturday and worry about the one who still can. After looking at the race, I realized Tiz Possible Dear was lone speed, and when the track came up wet, which I knew she loves, it was a no-brainer to run her.”
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Walder said he is uncertain what will be next for Tiz Possible Dear, citing the Dec. 5 Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park as an option.
“We’ll look at the sheet numbers for the race and go from there,” Walder said. “She may also be eligible for a straight one-other-than allowance race as well. Unfortunately, there is no Sunshine Millions Distaff this year, so that is not an option.”
Seven go in allowance
The penultimate week of the Gulfstream Park West meeting kicks off with an eight-race card Wednesday topped by a $38,000 first-level allowance race for Florida-bred fillies and mares going six furlongs on the main track. The race drew a wide-open field of seven, with both Sunset Empire and Uncaptured Ruby bringing modest two-race win streaks into the race.
Sunset Empire is coming off an easy 2 1/4-length victory over open $12,500 claiming opposition in a race moved from the turf to the main track, making her perfect in two starts over the local strip. Uncaptured Ruby ships down from Monmouth Park, where she won each of her last two starts by a neck against $12,500 conditioned-claiming opposition.