It Tiz pulls upset in Megahertz

It Tiz had also been withdrawn from a recent engagement, opting out of last

Sunday's El Encino S. (G2) on the main track. As it turned out, trainer Mark

Glatt's change of plans worked out for the best.

The speedy Southern Fireball (Southern Image) tore off by 4 1/2 lengths

through an initial quarter in :22 4/5, but Burg Berg (Johannesburg) and Lilly Fa

Pootz (Gilded Time) closed the gap to one length by the time the half was

reached in :46 4/5. It Tiz bided her time in fourth, one spot ahead of the

unhurried Eclair de Lune in the short field of six.

At the top of the stretch, Lilly Fa Pootz threw down her challenge, and put

her head in front of a weakening Southern Fireball at the eighth-pole. It Tiz

was likewise making good progress on the outside, unlike the toiling Eclair de

Lune. Rolling right past Lilly Fa Pootz, It Tiz got up by a half-length in a

final time of 1:34 4/5 for the firm-turf mile and furnished mutuels of $18,

$6.40 and $4.60.

"I was expecting the one (Southern Fireball) and the two (Burg Berg) to go a

good pace, and they came out as expected," Flores said. "It doesn't happen too

many times like that, but today everything happened just the way I was hoping. I

was hoping my filly would relax because she runs better when she's relaxed in

the first part of the race. She was able to finish like she did at Hollywood

Park when I rode her the first couple times.

"I was afraid of the favorite (Eclair de Lune) because I was following her,

and I didn't know how much horse he (Rafael Bejarano) had left. At the end I was

hoping I had a better horse than him, and she came through."

"I thought she relaxed real nicely, which has been a problem in the past,"

Glatt noted. "David was able to get her back and she finished real strong. She's

had a very tough summer. She had a lot of bad luck with post position draws, so

a lot of her races weren't as bad as they looked on paper. We got a nice short

field today and got a good trip, and hopefully a confidence builder onto bigger

and better things."

Lilly Fa Pootz was 2 1/4 lengths on top of third-placer Burg Berg. Another 1

1/4 lengths adrift came Eclair de Lune, who just prevailed over Sandi's Ready

(More Than Ready) and Southern Fireball in a three-way finish for fourth.

It Tiz was winning for the first time since the July 1 Le Cle S. over

Hollywood's turf. After three unplaced efforts on the grass, the dark bay

reverted to the Cushion Track and finished second to the progressive Washington

Bridge (Yankee Gentleman) in the November 12 Life Is Sweet S. It Tiz next cut

back to one turn when trying dirt in the December 26 La Brea S. (G1) last time

out, where she was a non-threatening fifth. The four-year-old, whose resume also

features a third in the 2009 Moccasin S. as a juvenile, has bankrolled $259,295

from her 14-5-1-1 line.

Bred by Select Bloodstock in Kentucky, It Tiz was purchased by the Branches

for $170,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. She is out of the unraced

Woodman mare Star of the Woods, whose other foals include the multiple

stakes-placed Meetmeinthewoods (General Meeting) and a juvenile filly named

Solid Appeal (Successful Appeal). Further back, she comes from the female line

of German highweight and sire Silvano (Ger) (Lomitas [GB]) and Group/Grade 1

winners Sabiango (Ger) (Acatenango), Teggiano (Ire) (Mujtahid), Beautiful Melody

(Alydar) and Jeanne Jones (Nijinsky II).