12 Pedigree fun facts: Tiz the Bomb

Tiz the Bomb has established his class on turf and the all-weather Tapeta surface, as you might expect for a son of 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) hero Hit It a Bomb. Although his dam was also primarily a turf performer, her Hall of Fame sire and broodmare sire – Tiznow and A.P. Indy, respectively – point to dirt.

Here are Tiz the Bomb’s pedigree fun facts:

1. Sire Hit It a Bomb was an unbeaten two-year-old for Aidan O’Brien.

A homebred campaigned by Mrs. Evie Stockwell, the mother of Coolmore impresario John Magnier, Hit It a Bomb was a perfect 3-for-3 as a juvenile. Those starts were compressed in just about one month in the fall. Trained by Aidan O’Brien at the legendary Ballydoyle, Hit It a Bomb graduated in his Curragh debut, romped in the Star Appeal S. on Dundalk’s Polytrack, and got up by a neck in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland. 

His sophomore season was less memorable. Not seen again until late summer 2016, Hit It a Bomb was third in the Desmond (G3) and Boomerang (G2). He was only ninth in his final two outings, the Queen Elizabeth II (G1) on British Champions Day at Ascot and the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Santa Anita.

2. Hit It a Bomb is closely inbred to Northern Dancer.

Both of Hit It a Bomb’s grandsires are sons of 1964 Kentucky Derby star Northern Dancer, and the supersire lurks deeper his ancestry as well.

Hit It a Bomb is by War Front, a son of the globally-influential Northern Dancer stallion Danzig. Hit It a Bomb’s dam is by fellow Northern Dancer patriarch Sadler’s Wells. Thus Hit It a Bomb is closely inbred (3×3) to Northern Dancer.

The breed-shaper appears three more times in the further pedigree. Northern Dancer’s history-making son Nijinsky II, the last English Triple Crown winner (1970), factors in War Front. Danzig pops up again in Hit It a Bomb’s dam, through his dual-hemisphere game-changer Danehill. And yet another Northern Dancer stallion, Be My Guest, features in the female line. 

3. Hit It a Bomb is a full brother to a European champion juvenile filly. 

Hit It a Bomb is out of Group 3 heroine Liscanna, making him a full brother to European champion Brave Anna. A year younger than her brother, Brave Anna achieved her top ranking by springing a 25-1 upset in the 2016 Cheveley Park (G1) at Newmarket. She edged another War Front filly, Ballydoyle stablemate Roly Poly, with Wesley Ward’s odds-on favorite, Lady Aurelia, in third. Brave Anna earlier had scored at an unheralded 16-1 in the Albany (G3) at Royal Ascot. 

Liscanna is a three-quarter sister to Ennistymon, runner-up in the 2020 Oaks (G1) at Epsom, and to Group 2-placed Lahinch Classics, dam of last year’s Summer (G1) runner-up Grafton Street. Himself by War Front, Grafton Street is therefore closely related to Tiz the Bomb. 

Liscanna’s dam, the stakes-winning and Group 3-placed Danehill Dancer mare Lahinch, is the inspiration behind Hit It a Bomb’s name. Lahinch refers to the eponymous golf club on Ireland’s Atlantic coast, and Hit It a Bomb alludes to a certain golfing anecdote.

“One day I was playing golf with an American friend,” Stockwell told Racing Post. “We were playing on an elevated part of the course on the 17th tee and there were people watching. And I remember her announcing that she was going to ‘hit it a bomb!’ It became a joke. It’s a fun name.”

4. War Front raced exclusively on dirt before emerging as a surface-versatile sire.

War Front was a classy one-turn specialist on the main track. Capturing the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) at Saratoga, he placed in five graded stakes including the Forego (G1) and Vosburgh (G1).

Yet it’s worth wondering how War Front might have fared on turf. His dam, Starray Dreamer, was herself a multiple stakes winner and Grade 2-placed on the grass. She never won on dirt, but placed second three times, most notably in the 1997 Gazelle H. (G1) at Belmont Park. Starray Dreamer, by champion sprinter Rubiano, was a prolific broodmare who also produced multiple Grade 2 victress and Grade 1-placed Teammate as well as graded turf performers Ecclesiastic, Riviera Cocktail, Jay Gatsby, and North Dakota.

With that background, it’s not surprising that War Front has emerged as a source of major turf winners. But he can’t be pigeon-holed either, as a few of his best turf-to-dirt sons have illustrated – Omaha Beach, scratched as the 2019 Kentucky Derby favorite; that same year’s Preakness (G1) winner, War of Will; and his multiple Group 1-winning son Declaration of War, a near-miss third when trying dirt in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).

Tiz the Bomb’s dam, Tiz the Key, carries two crosses of 1977 Triple Crown great Seattle Slew. Her sire, two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic gladiator Tiznow, is out of a mare by Slew’s Grade/Group 1 turf star Seattle Song. Tiz the Key’s dam, Cabbage Key, is by Slew’s greatest son, A.P. Indy. 

Cabbage Key’s pedigree doubles up on Secretariat. A.P. Indy is out of a mare by the 1973 Triple Crown legend. So is Cabbage Key’s broodmare sire, the influential Gone West, out of a Secretariat mare.

6. Tiznow helped to keep the sire line of Man o’ War going.

American titan Man o’ War is a key component in modern pedigrees, but his influence endures mainly through females –his daughters or his sons’ daughters. In contrast, his male line has just been holding on, thanks to the boost by his descendant In Reality. The winner of the 1967 Florida Derby and 1968 Metropolitan H., In Reality entrusted the torch to several stallion sons, including Relaunch, the paternal grandsire of Tiznow.

Tiznow’s sire, Cee’s Tizzy, showed promise in a brief six-race career. Third in the 1990 Super Derby (G1) in what turned out to be his finale, Cee’s Tizzy sired several full siblings to Tiznow. The gelding Budroyale, a $2.8 million-earner, was a close second in the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Their sisters have made an impact as producers, Tizso becoming the dam of 2012 Haskell hero Paynter, and Tizamazing the dam of 2013 Preakness victor Oxbow. Both Paynter and Oxbow were runners-up in their respective Belmont S. (G1).

Tiznow has sired 2008 Belmont shocker Da’ Tara, that year’s Travers (G1) and Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Colonel John, 2009 Dubai World Cup (G1) romper Well Armed, 2016 Breeders’ Cup Mile scorer Tourist, and $3.6 million-earner Midnight Bourbon, last year’s Preakness runner-up, who sadly just passed away from a sudden gastrointestinal problem. Tiznow’s Grade 2-winning daughter Tizfiz produced Tiz the Law, star of the 2020 Belmont and Travers on the pandemic-scrambled calendar. Tiznow is also the broodmare sire of current Withers (G3) winner and Wood Memorial (G2) second Early Voting.

7. A.P. Indy lived up to his classic pedigree.

Being by Seattle Slew and out of a Secretariat mare, A.P. Indy was bred for the Triple Crown. A quarter-crack forced him to scratch from the 1992 Kentucky Derby, but A.P. Indy lived up to his pedigree in the Belmont.

“A.P.” has transmitted that classic legacy at stud, siring 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini, 2007 Belmont queen Rags to Riches, and Pulpit, sire of Tapit. Daughters of A.P. Indy have produced 2010 Kentucky Derby hero Super Saver, 2017 Preakness scorer Cloud Computing, and a few classic-placers, most notably Bluegrass Cat, runner-up in the 2006 Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Travers. 

A.P. Indy’s third dam, Gay Missile, is also the third dam of Cabbage Key. Thus Cabbage Key sports the pedigree angle of inbreeding to a superior female, the “Rasmussen Factor.”

Gay Missile, who won the 1970 Ashland, is herself an advertisement of the Rasmussen Factor because she is inbred to the significant French mare Lavendula. Both Gay Missile’s paternal grandsire and broodmare sire, *Turn-to and *My Babu, are grandsons of Lavendula. Adding a further layer of intrigue, Lavendula in turn doubles up on the great British matron Canterbury Pilgrim, dam of Chaucer and Swynford.

9. Tiz the Bomb’s third dam is inbred to Secretariat’s dam.

Cabbage Key’s dam, Mayville’s Magic, employs the Rasmussen Factor too. In her case, the duplicated mare is Somethingroyal, celebrated as the dam of Secretariat. Somethingroyal appears in Mayville’s Magic’s sire, Gone West, who is out of a Secretariat mare. 

But Somethingroyal also factors through her first famous son, Sir Gaylord, the favorite for the 1962 Kentucky Derby before sustaining an injury. Sir Gaylord is the sire of Gay Missile. 

10. Tiz the Bomb’s ancestress has made her mark on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tiz the Bomb’s fourth dam, Gallanta, is one of four European Group 1 performers out of Gay Missile, including French champion Gay Mecene. Gallanta, by the brilliant miler Nureyev, won the 1984 Prix de Cabourg and finished second in the Prix Morny (G1) at two. She would produce a top juvenile, 1994 Cheveley Park winner Gay Gallanta. 

Other Gay Missile descendants, aside from A.P. Indy, include his 1990 Preakness-winning half-brother Summer Squall, 1999 Belmont champion Lemon Drop Kid, and Euro celebrities Duke of Marmalade, Ruler of the World, and Wolfhound.

11. Gay Missile herself belongs to a prolific family.

Gay Missile’s dam, Missy Baba, has exerted a profound influence through other offspring. Her chief sons, Raja Baba and Sauce Boat, were also sires. Missy Baba’s daughter Toll Booth became Broodmare of the Year after foaling champion sprinter Plugged Nickle and Grade 1 winner Christiecat, and her tribe would eventually extend to 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace and 2014 Belmont hero Tonalist.

12. Tiz the Bomb traces to the same mid-19th century mare as Citation and Silver Charm. 

Following the matrilineal descent much deeper, this is the family labeled 3-l that claims 1948 Triple Crown legend Citation as well as Silver Charm, who nearly completed the sweep in 1997. But you have to keep digging to find their ancestress in common with Tiz the Bomb, all the way back to Mayonaise (foaled in 1856). She is a daughter of Pic-nic, winner of the 1000 Guineas in 1845.