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Nobiz struts the stage in Hall of Fame
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Nobiz Like Shobiz lived up to his turf-oriented pedigree in the Hall of Fame
(Tim Burns/Horsephotos.com) |
Elizabeth J. Valando's homebred NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ (Albert the Great) heartily
endorsed the switch to turf when posting a half-length victory in Monday's
$158,000
National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. (G2) at Saratoga. After stalking a
slow early pace of :24 2/5, :49 1/5 and 1:13 2/5, the handsome bay ranged into
contention turning for home beneath Cornelio Velasquez. Nobiz Like Shobiz struck
the front in the stretch and held off the furious late rush of Marcavelly
(Johannesburg) at the wire, completing nine furlongs on the firm inner turf in
1:49 1/5.
The Barclay Tagg sophomore returned $5.20, $3.30 and $2.30 as the slight 8-5 favorite."I told (Velasquez) to stay close and let him relax," Tagg said. "He went :11
and two the last eighth today. It looked like a pretty good effort.
"He trained very well on the turf," the horseman added. "If he hadn't, I
wouldn't have run him on it. He got to the point where he was running down a
little on dirt. We breezed him on turf a couple of times, and he came back
strong and didn't have any problems."
Marcavelly did well to finish as close as he did after being shuffled back in
midstretch. The 8-5 second choice gave back $2.70 and $2.20 while ending the
$13.40 exacta.
"He finished very well," trainer Bill Mott said of the troubled runner-up.
"He came running at the end. If he has a clean trip up the rail, he's probably
going to win."
Distorted Reality (Distorted Humor) crossed the wire another neck back in third,
yielding $2.40 and rounding out the $19.20 trifecta (6-1-3). Ambassador (Ger) (Acatenango)
reported home fourth, followed by Jazz Quest (Jambalaya Jazz) and early leader
Sahara Heat (A.P. Indy), whose rein broke in the opening stages.
Nobiz Like Shobiz improved his record to 9-5-2-1 with $930,600 in earnings. As a
juvenile, he finished second in the Champagne S. (G1) in his second career
start, then rolled to a 6 1/2-length score in the Remsen S. (G2) and was
promptly heralded as a major Kentucky Derby (G1) candidate. Although Nobiz Like
Shobiz added the Holy Bull S. (G3) and Wood Memorial S. (G1) to his resume, he
did so in workmanlike rather than spectacular fashion. After winding up 10th in
the Run for the Roses, he enjoyed a nearly two-month vacation. Nobiz Like Shobiz
returned in the Dwyer S. (G2) to check in second, while no match for the runaway
winner, Any Given Saturday (Distorted Humor). That effort looked all the more
respectable after Any Given Saturday romped in Sunday's Haskell Invitational H.
(G1) at Monmouth.
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The Kentucky-bred is the fourth registered foal out of the winning Nightstorm
(Storm Cat), and has an unnamed two-year-old half-sister by Changeintheweather,
as well as an unnamed yearling half-brother by Broken Vow and a 2007 filly by
Eurosilver. Hailing from the family of Grade 1-winning sire Cormorant (His
Majesty), 1973 Kentucky Oaks (G2) queen Bag of Tunes (*Herbager) and Grade 2
victress Swingtime (Buckpasser), Nobiz Like Shobiz is inbred 5 X 4 to the
influential producer Swoon's Tune (Swoon's Son).
Tagg has an abundance of options to consider now.
"He seems to be versatile," the trainer said. "He's won graded stakes on both
surfaces. I don't know for sure what his best distance will be on the turf. I
don't know about the (October 27) Breeders' Cup, what we would do there. He
might just go out for the Hollywood Derby (G1), or something like that."
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