Tiz Wonderful injured, off Derby Trail

[my miss storm cat]

Awww, a shame...

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/16500912.htm


Injured Tiz Wonderful will miss Kentucky DerbyBy GARY WEST
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
Tiz Wonderful is off the Kentucky Derby trail. Unbeaten in three races and one of the early favorites for the Triple Crown series, Tiz Wonderful has a minor tendon injury that will delay his return to competition and so prevent his running in the Kentucky Derby, his trainer, Steve Asmussen, said Friday.

“He reached up and hit himself,” Asmussen said, “and there’s a blemish on the tendon (of the right foreleg). So we’ll just walk him for a while, and a horse that’s walking the shedrow this time of year isn’t going to make the (Kentucky) Derby.”

Asmussen wouldn’t speculate about when Tiz Wonderful might be able to resume training or competition. The trainer said he wouldn’t take any chances, but would be very patient and conservative so not to risk serious injury to the tendon.

Asmussen said the injury to Tiz Wonderful was enormously disappointing, especially since the son of Tiznow seems to possess the kind of abilities that foretell Triple Crown success.

“I’ve never had my hands on a horse with his combination of talents,” Asmussen said about Tiz Wonderful. “He’s absolutely amazing, with the speed and stamina he has. He’s very fast, and he keeps running. He’s the first horse I’ve ever had that I never doubted could go the distance (the 1 1/4 miles of the Kentucky Derby).”

Owned by Jess Jackson of California, Tiz Wonderful won his debut by more than 12 lengths at Saratoga in September. He then won the Iroquois Stakes by nearly seven lengths and the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes by a half-length, bringing his earnings to $228,792. Both stakes victories were at Churchill Downs, where the Triple Crown begins May 5 with the Kentucky Derby.

Tiz Wonderful is stabled at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, where he had been expected to begin his journey towards the Triple Crown. Asmussen still has several Triple Crown possibilities in his stable, most notably Zanjero, who finished second in the Remsen Stakes and is also in New Orleans.

With Tiz Wonderful out, Nobiz Like Showbiz and Street Sense become the clear early favorites for the Kentucky Derby. Street Sense won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and will probably be named, on Jan. 22, the champion 2-year-old of 2006. Nobiz Like Shobiz won the Remsen Stakes. Both horses are training in Florida.