Home

On Saturday, improving 3-year-old Tiz West scored his first graded triumph when he prevailed by a nose in the Cinema Handicap (gr. III). A son of Gone West, Tiz West is out of the Cee's Tizzy mare Tizso, a full sister to Tiznow (TrueNicks, SRO) (and is A++ rated by TrueNicks).

What makes this particularly interesting is that one day earlier Merchant Marine captured the Yankee Victor Stakes at Belmont Park for his debut stakes win. Merchant Marine follows Thor's Daughter as the second stakes winner from only eight starters by Tiznow out of Gone West mares (meaning it is another A++ rated horse).

There is obviously something of an affinity between Gone West and Tiznow's grandsire, Relaunch: Gone West has two stakes winners out of mares by Relaunch, and his son Mr. Greeley has graded winner Puck out of a Relaunch mare. As far as the reverse is concerned, we can also note that another young Relaunch line stallion, Officer (TrueNicks, SRO), has stakes winner Officer Rocket and graded-placed Les Grand Trois out of mares by Gone West.

Tiznow's potential for combining with Mr. Prospector-line mares might be increased by the fact that he is out of a Seattle Slew-line mare. Mr. Prospector and Seattle Slew were both from the Myrtlewood branch of the Frizette family (and Seattle Slew's granddam is inbred to Frizette). Of course, Seattle Slew and Mr. Prospector have enjoyed a lot of success together, whichever way round they have been crossed.

Filed under: Recent Winners, Emerging Nicks