Next Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs lost one of its leading lights yesterday when Horse of the Year contender Tizway was retired with a suspensory injury.
The 6-year-old son of Tiznow was looking to clinch top honors with a victory in the $5 million Classic, a race his sire won in 2000-2001.
Tizway battled physical ailments for most of his career but seemed to put them behind him this year, when he scored back-to-back victories in the Metropolitan Handicap by 2¾lengths and the Whitney Handicap by three. Most recently, he missed a scheduled start in the Oct. 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup after spiking a fever.
“He galloped very well this morning,” trainer Jim Bond said. “We put him on ice like we usually do, but he showed some swelling and heat. We called the vets and they saw a bruise and did an ultrasound. They found a diffused lesion in the suspensory branch of his left front leg. It’s like the rope that holds the knee and ankle together.
“The safe thing to do is retire him. The doctors said it was borderline, but I am not going to take a chance with a stud career in front of him. It’s sad because I wanted him to have the chance to prove to everyone that he was the best horse in the world. Watching Tizway’s wins in the Met Mile and Whitney gives me goosebumps, and the only horse that had ever done that to me before was Secretariat.”
Tizway retires to stud at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky with a record of seven wins, a second and five thirds from 20 starts. He earned $1,359,274.