Future of Tiznow Yet to Be Decided

No decision on the future of Tiznow, the horse of the year in 2000, is expected for several days, trainer Jay Robbins said Wednesday.

Beset with back problems for the last couple of months, Tiznow, a 4-year-old California-bred son of Cee’s Tizzy, was back at the Robbins barn after undergoing a nuclear scan Tuesday.

“The [lumbar] vertebrae looks fine,” Robbins said. “The problem could be muscular, so we’ve started giving him muscle relaxers. We’ll play it by ear and we’ll see if he improves over the next four or five days.”

Tiznow, a full brother to multiple-stakes winner Budroyale who is owned by Michael Cooper and the Cecilia Straub-Rubens Revocable Trust, was scheduled to race until the end of 2002. Those plans were changed when Santa Anita lost next year’s Breeders’ Cup, and his career was going to conclude at the end of this year.

A winner of seven of 12 and with $3,445,950 in earnings, Tiznow secured horse-of-the-year honors with a victory over Giant’s Causeway in a memorable Breeders’ Cup Classic last Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs.

When he returned as a 4-year-old, Tiznow won two of three at Santa Anita this winter. He won the San Fernando Breeders’ Cup Stakes on Jan. 13, was surprised by Wooden Phone in the Strub Stakes on Feb. 3, then cruised to a victory in the Santa Anita Handicap a month later. Whether that turns out to be his final career start remains up in the air.

Scheduled to run in the Pimlico Special on May 12, Tiznow was injured in a workout in late April and a nuclear scan showed a strained lumbar vertebrae.

“The prognosis is good,” Robbins said at the time. “We’ll walk him for 60 days before resuming training.”

Captain Steve, the beaten favorite in the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on Saturday, may be wheeled back in the $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup on July 1.

Captain Steve, who was beaten by longshot Guided Tour in the Foster in his first race since he won the $6-million Dubai World Cup in late March, returned to California on Sunday.

“He went to the track [at Santa Anita] this morning and looked good,” trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday. “I’m leaning toward running him. He’s got to keep showing me he’s doing well through the week and then we’ll work him next Tuesday and probably decide.”

A small field seems a certainty for the Gold Cup, a Grade I run at 1 1/4 miles. The only others considered probable at this point are the Bobby Frankel-trained duo of Skimming and Aptitude, who finished 1-3 in the Californian earlier in the month, and Futural, who was second in that race.

Frankel was going to send Aptitude to New York for the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park on July 1 but opted to keep the late runner, who is best known for finishing second to Fusaichi Pegasus in the 2000 Kentucky Derby, in California. Skimming and Aptitude worked five furlongs Wednesday morning with the latter going in 1:01 2/5 and the former in 1:01 4/5.

If Captain Steve wins the Gold Cup, he will become the first horse to capture the Hollywood Futurity, Swaps Stakes and Gold Cup. The son of Fly So Free won the Futurity in 1999, then defeated Tiznow in last year’s Swaps.

A victory in the race is worth $450,000, which means a win by Captain Steve--who is fourth on the all-time earnings list with $6,693,356--would move him into third place. Cigar is first with $9,999,815, Skip Away is second at $9,616,360 and Silver Charm third at $6,944,369. Cigar won the Gold Cup in 1995 and Skip Away won it in 1998.

Happyanunoit will be the starting high weight at 122 pounds in Sunday’s $200,000 Beverly Hills Handicap, a Grade I at 1 1/4 miles on the turf.

A winner over favored Tranquility Lake in the Gamely Breeders’ Cup Handicap on May 26 in her first start of the year, Happyanunoit will be trying for a repeat victory in the Beverly Hills.

Only three others have won the race back-to-back and, if Happyanunoit accomplishes the feat, she’ll be the first not trained by the late Charlie Whittingham. Flawlessly won in 1992 and ‘93, La Zanzara in 1974-75 and Swingtime in 1977-78.