Breeders’ Interest Sends Tiznow Into Retirement

Racing has lost another box-office horse at the top of his game with the retirement to stud of Tiznow, who three weeks ago became the first two-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic in a dramatic stretch run at Belmont Park.

After that win, Mike Cooper, the managing partner of the 4-year-old colt, suggested that Tiznow would return to run for another year. But in the last two weeks at Keeneland, where Tiznow’s dam and his full sister, a weanling, sold for millions of dollars, a keen interest among several Kentucky breeding farms convinced Cooper that the time was right for Tiznow to be sent to the breeding shed. Early Friday morning, Cooper called Santa Anita to tell trainer Jay Robbins to take Tiznow out of training.

His retirement means that the four horses earning the most purse money this year will not be seen on a racetrack again. Captain Steve, winner of the Dubai World Cup, was sold for $5 million to Japanese breeding interests; a tendon injury forced Point Given, winner of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, into retirement; and Fantastic Light, who won the Breeders’ Cup Turf, has been retired to stud. Tiznow, who clinched the 2000 horse-of-the-year title with his first Classic win, and Point Given are the leading contenders for this year’s national championship.

Racing is desperate for star power, but economic realities tug owners in the opposite direction. Because of a back injury, Tiznow was near retirement after his Santa Anita Handicap victory in March, but Robbins, in a remarkable training job, was able to nurse him back by fall.

Cooper told Blood-Horse magazine that no breeding contract has been signed and that the announcement of the Central Kentucky farm where Tiznow is headed will be made next week. The breeding season begins in February.

Tiznow made the most of 15 races, with eight wins, four seconds and two thirds. His purses total $6,427,830, a record for a California-bred and eighth overall.

Going into the 2000 Classic at Churchill Downs, 49 Cal-breds had run in various Breeders’ Cup races without winning. Tiznow ended the 16-year drought as he and jockey Chris McCarron fought off a challenge by Giant’s Causeway to win the $4-million race by a neck.

Three days after that race, Tiznow’s breeder and owner, Cee Straub-Rubens, who had attended the race in Kentucky, died in Newport Beach. Cooper and Straub-Rubens’ children--Pamela Ziebarth and Kevin Cochrane--continued to race the horse this year.

Tiznow’s second Breeders’ Cup race was closer than the first. He gave up the lead to Sakhee before coming on again to win by a nose.

Tiznow was foaled at Harris Farms near Coalinga, Calif., a son of the ignored sire Cee’s Tizzy and the $50,000 mare Cee’s Song. But that was before the success of Tiznow and Budroyale, another Cee’s Tizzy-Cee’s Song offspring, who was second in the 1999 Classic and has earned almost $3 million since he was claimed away from Straub-Rubens for $32,000.

Cee’s Song, in foal again to Cee’s Tizzy, was sold last week for $2.6 million. Three days later, the Cee’s Tizzy-Cee’s Song weanling went for $950,000.

“I was hoping they’d run Tiznow another year,” said John Harris, owner of Harris Farms. “He’s a popular horse now, but there’s that risk factor of trying to run one more year. He’s the most important Cal-bred stallion to go to Kentucky since Swaps [in 1957].”