Tiz the Bomb is, in many ways, a classic example of a horse primed to run in the Triple Crown races. He won graded stakes races as a two-year-old and was runner-up in his divisional championship race. While his seasonal debut at three was disappointing, he rebounded to win two more stakes races, including a 100-point Kentucky Derby prep.
With those credentials, one would think that he would be one of the likely favorites for the Run for the Roses, right? There’s one glaring issue, though.
Of Tiz the Bomb’s five career wins, only one- his maiden- was won on the dirt. You can check here how the previous winners compared to his record: twinspires.com/kentuckyderby/winners
His championship placing was in the Grade I Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Turf. His best career efforts were his victory in the Grade II Castle and Key Bourbon Stakes on the grass and the Grade III Jeff Ruby Steaks on Turfway Park’s synthetic track. That aforementioned disappointing seasonal debut, the Grade III Holy Bull, was Tiz the Bomb’s only stakes attempt on the dirt thus far, and it resulted in a seventh-place finish and a career-low speed figure of 70, well below the expected 90-100 figures run by the top dirt three-year-olds.
Tiz the Bomb’s grass form is so good that for much of the spring, trainer Kenneth McPeek considered sending him to the English classics, which are all run on the turf. The first leg of the English Triple Crown (which in fact predates the concept of the American Triple Crown by more than half a century), the 2000 Guineas, is traditionally run on the same weekend as the Kentucky Derby.
So why is Tiz the Bomb heading to Louisville? Is there more to this colt than meets the eye? Let’s take a look.
The Downsides
Tiz the Bomb’s Kentucky Derby points come from a race that is arguably less prestigious than most other prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, that being the Jeff Ruby Steaks on the synthetic surface Tapeta. Synthetic tracks were created as a safer alternative to dirt and turf, but most horses, historically, have had more success translating synthetic careers to turf rather than to dirt.
Tiz the Bomb is not without experience on the dirt; it’s just that his dirt performances have been several notches below his synthetic and turf dominance. He broke his maiden on the dirt in an impressive style; however, this was at Ellis Park, which does not draw the same level of horses that top tracks such as Churchill Downs would. Indeed, Churchill Downs was the site of Tiz the Bomb’s very first race, when he ran an uninspiring seventh.
Seventh was also the position Tiz the Bomb ended up in when he attempted a Kentucky Derby prep for the first time in the Holy Bull Stakes. He raced toward the back of the pack throughout, never showing interest, and he earned the chart comment “no apparent mishap.” It is possible that he reacted to dirt being kicked in his face (he’d won his maiden gate to wire), which does not spell out good luck for him in the Kentucky Derby, as he has not shown the kind of early speed to keep up with the likes of Epicenter.
The Upsides
There are things to consider about Tiz the Bomb in the Kentucky Derby, however. He has a solid foundation of experience, coming into the Derby with eight career starts. He has raced and performed well at several different tracks, displaying the ability to carry his talent from surface to surface.
He is the only horse in the Kentucky Derby field to have competed in the Breeder’s Cup races as a juvenile. While the crowds and the hoopla at the Breeder’s Cup events are not nearly as intense as they will be at the Kentucky Derby, they are far more invasive than one would encounter on most other race days in North America.
Perhaps most importantly, Tiz the Bomb kept a cool head when coltish antics caused the late scratch of Albahr, confusion around whether eventual winner Modern Games should run, and a long delay in front of the gate. This kind of maturity means that Tiz the Bomb is unlikely to be bothered by the hoopla at Churchill Downs.
The Family
Tiz the Bomb is a son of Hit It A Bomb, one of the top two-year-olds of 2015 on the grass. His victories included a fast-closing neck triumph in the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile Turf. However, his form appeared to tail off after that, as it was his last career win.
Hit It A Bomb has had two crops come to the races, and of those, Tiz the Bomb is by far the most accomplished. He has also sired Grade II Best Pal Stakes winner Weston, Grade II Chandelier Stakes runner-up Miss Costa Rica, and the multiple-stakes-placed filly Tic Tic Tic Boom.
Although Tiz the Bomb and Hit It A Bomb himself had their greatest victories on the grass, it appears that Hit It A Bomb’s other successful progeny have taken to the dirt, although not at the distances or prestige level of the Kentucky Derby.
Tiz the Bomb’s damsire was the great Tiznow, best known for his back to back victories in the Grade I Breeder’s Cup Classic, which, like the Kentucky Derby, is run at 1 ¼ miles on the dirt. As a broodmare sire, Tiznow has had success, with his most notable descendant being Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law.
It is important to note that this was in 2020- the year that the Belmont Stakes was run at 1 ⅛ miles instead of the typical 1 ½ miles- but Tiz the Law followed that victory with a win in the Grade I Travers Stakes as well as a runner-up finish in the (delayed) Kentucky Derby, both at 1 ¼ miles.
Looking at this information, while Tiz the Bomb’s career thus far is more closely mirroring that of his sire, there is data to suggest dirt prowess and stamina from his mother’s side of the pedigree. This, combined with his maturity and experience, mean that Tiz the Bomb could be a longshot to look out for.
