**Please see attached photo of
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Contact: Jon Forbes
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If not for a chance telephone call, owner John Fort of Peachtree Stable might have never purchased Biloxi, who overcame greenness to break his maiden on April 24 at Aqueduct Racetrack and become the eighth horse featured in the recently introduced “New York Watch” series, at http://www.nyra.com/nywatch/Biloxi.html.
Prior to the 2008 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Fort made a trip to Taylor Made Farm to visually inspect horses in the farm’s consignment. After scouting 30 yearlings, Fort left the farm, only to remember he had never looked at a particular Tiznow colt.
“I called Duncan Taylor [at Taylor Made] and said, ‘I didn’t see the Tiznow,’” Fort said of the colt later named
Fort wasn’t overwhelmed by the yearling’s catalogue page, but was impressed enough by the dark bay’s appearance to buy him for $350,000.
“There is a lot of white on his page,” said Fort, speaking by telephone from
And while Fort had to go far back to find distinguished family members,
Placed in training with Rick Dutrow, Jr.,
The stewards conducted an inquiry into the stretch run, but left the original order of finish unchanged.
“As soon as I saw him win, I congratulated Dr. Barry Eisaman, who broke the horse and watched the race with me,” said Fort. “I left and texted him later to ask for the final time (1:10.32 for six furlongs), but I didn’t hear back from him. I was on the road going 70 mph when he called me, and told me there had been an inquiry.”
Fort – who owned Merchant Marine, another son of Tiznow who won two minor stakes at Belmont Park and finished third in the 2008 Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup – is hopeful Biloxi will improve with experience and distance.
“All the Tiznows want to go on,” said Fort. “We were having him going against the grain by having him in six-furlong races, but we felt like he could win – and he did.”
Fort also noted how
“In his debut at Gulfstream, it looked like he might win, but the winner came over and intimidated him, and he lost his momentum,” said Fort. “Today, he won the bumping.”
Many of the industry’s brightest stars embarked upon their careers at the NYRA tracks, including a number of recent Triple Crown race winners. Big Brown, Jazil, Birdstone, Funny Cide, and Empire Maker are all among the
The list also includes a brilliant triumvirate of fillies that broke their maidens at Aqueduct. Flashing, Little Belle, and Music Note all registered their first victories at the Big A before going on to win major Grade 1 races within the last two years.
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