Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Tiz The Bomb

Apr 05, 2022 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

Magdalena Racing’s Tiz The Bomb picked up 100 points on the 2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby challenge series leaderboard after posting a decisive 2 1/4-length victory in the $600,000 Jeff Ruby Stakes (G3) at Turfway Park on April 2. The Kenny McPeek pupil clocked 1 1/8 miles on the Tapeta surface in 1:48.60 with Brian Hernandez Jr. in the silks. His lifetime line now reads 8-5-1-0, $1,044,401.

'He sure is good right now,' said McPeek.

Tawny Port was runner-up and trailed by Rich Strike and Dowagiac Chief. That trio earned qualifying points on a 40-20-10 basis.

Tiz The Bomb was unplaced on debut following a seventh-place effort at Churchill Downs in a five-furlong maiden special weight dash on the main oval. He showed marked improvement in his second lifetime engagement, however, as he romped in an off-the-turf test at Ellis Park by a handsome 14 1/4 lengths on July 2.

He moved to the turf for his stakes debut on September 6 and came away a game winner of the Kentucky Downs Juvenile S. A sharp tally in the grassy Bourbon S. (G2) at Keeneland followed that triumph, and he capped his two-year-old campaign with an excellent second-place finish in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) at Del Mar on November 5.

The son of Hit It A Bomb was a non-factor in his sophomore bow when finishing a distant seventh in the Holy Bull S. (G3) at Gulfstream Park on February 5. He preceded his Jeff Ruby score with a tally in the John Battaglia Memorial S.

Tiz The Bomb was bred in the Bluegrass State by Spendthrift Farm and fetched a final bid of $330,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale. The bay is the first stakes winner out of the Tiznow mare Tiz the Key, who is also responsible for a two-year-old filly by Free Drop Billy named Bel Rosso, as well as an unnamed yearling colt by Mor Spirit.

There is no doubting either the talent or improving form of Tiz the Bomb, who has registered Brisnet Speed figures of 73-90-101 this season. The striking three-year-old remains a question mark on conventional dirt, however, and he didn’t offer much in his lone run beneath the Twin Spires. But with that said, a talented colt who is getting better at the right time of the year can’t be ignored leading up to the Run for the Roses.