Jerry Moss Has Another Derby Horse

[Steve Sidoruk]

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Derby victory is result of team effort
Tiago is owned and trained by the group that took Giacomo to Churchill Downs.

By LARRY BORTSTEIN
Special to the Register

ARCADIA - When trainer John Shirreffs took Giacomo to the Kentucky Derby two years ago, his week at Churchill Downs was, he said, "one of those experiences everyone in this business dreams of."

"Just to go through the gates was tremendous. We were flying under the radar. No one gave us much of a chance, so we just enjoyed ourselves, not knowing if we'd ever be back there again."

Two years later, Shirreffs will be back at Churchill Downs again, for the 133rd Run for the Roses on May 5.

So will Jerry and Ann Moss, who owned Giacomo, and Mike Smith, who rode him to a $102.60 upset victory in the 2005 Derby.

They will return to Louisville, Ky., because Tiago, whom the Mosses also own, Shirreffs also trains and Smith also rides, won the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday in front of 56,810. It was the largest crowd to see a Santa Anita Derby live since 1984, when Mighty Adversary crossed the wire first.

Tiago, whose 29-1 price was the second longest in the field of 10 3-year-olds and paid $60.60, proved his mettle for America's most famous horse race. He powered home from fifth place at the top of the stretch to prevail in the final yards by one-half length over runner-up King of the Roxy. His winning time for the 1

1/8 miles was 1:49.51

Sam P., the 12-5 favorite was third. He and King of the Roxy are both trained by Todd Pletcher, who could have as many as six starters in the Kentucky Derby.

Shirreffs is happy with his one colt, thank you.

"The way he came running in the stretch reminded me of Giacomo," he said. "But Tiago has a better turn of foot. He doesn't need the same kind of fast pace up front as Giacomo.

"We were just taking a shot, hoping the horse would do something great. Obviously, he did."

Tiago was making just his fourth career start Saturday and was ridden by Smith for the first time.

"He hit another gear at the eighth pole," said Smith, who finished fourth with Giacomo in the 2005 Santa Anita Derby, behind winning 30-1 shot Buzzards Bay. "He ran a picture-perfect race today. When Giacomo ran in this race, we didn't have any pace to run at. Today, we did."

Although Giacomo, now retired to stud in Kentucky, is gray and Tiago is bay in color, there are more parallels between the colts than their owners, trainer and rider.

Moss, who founded A&M Records with Herb Alpert, named Giacomo for the son of superstar singer Sting. Tiago is named for the son of bossa nova king Sergio Mendes.

The colts Giacomo and Tiago also are half-brothers. The mother of both is Set Them Free, also owned by the Mosses.

NOTES
Trainer Doug O'Neill finished fourth in the Santa Anita Derby with Liquidity, seventh in the Illinois Derby with Cobalt Blue and fifth in the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland for 3-year-old fillies with Mistical Plan. He finally broke through with Super Freaky to win Santa Anita's $112,600 Providencia Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on turf. O'Neill said that Liquidity and Cobalt Blue "aren't necessarily" off the Kentucky Derby trail despite their defeats Saturday. …

Bordonaro, who was to have run in the $192,000 Potrero Grande Handicap, was scratched and will run Saturday in the Count Fleet Handicap at Oaklawn Park, an Arkansas event the 5-year-old California-bred gelding won last year. Smokey Stover, the 7-10 favorite, won the Potrero Grande in 1:14.83 for 6 1/2 furlongs.

Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/other/article_1645953.php

 

[DAN BOLTON]

Way to go, Jerry!


Dan

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

Tiago's comeback win sets up Run for the Roses
By Hank Wesch
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 8, 2007

ARCADIA – Remember Giacomo?

The gray Holy Bull colt that finished fourth in the 2005 Santa Anita Derby and, one month later, rallied from 18th place to win the Kentucky Derby at the second-highest reward ($102.60) for a $2 bet in Run for the Roses history?

That Giacomo.

Meet Tiago, Giacomo's younger, by 2 years, half brother. Same mom (Set Them Free) as Giacomo, different dad (Pleasant Colony). Same owners, trainer and jockey – Jerry and Ann Moss, John Shirreffs and Mike Smith.
Tiago introduced himself to an on-track crowd of 56,810 and a world of unsuspecting racing fans looking toward this year's Kentucky Derby with a half-length victory over King of the Roxy in yesterday's $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, returning $60.60 to those who remembered Giacomo fondly enough to think Tiago had a chance.

Tiago's Santa Anita Derby looked a lot like Giacomo's Kentucky Derby with the bay colt advancing from ninth in the 10-horse field after a half-mile to overtake an exhausted King of the Roxy in the final five strides. The time of 1:49.51 for 1 1/8 miles was the second-slowest since 1968, ahead of only Came Home's 1:50.02 in 2002.

“He ran a picture-perfect race,” said Smith. “He finished today like Giacomo finished in the Kentucky Derby. I tell you, at the eighth pole, he hit another gear.”

Smith was aboard Tiago for the first time, having been summoned from his New York base to complete a reunion of Team Giacomo when Victor Espinoza, aboard Tiago in all three prior career starts, opted to ride Cobalt Blue in the Illinois Derby. Cobalt Blue finished seventh of nine in the race at Hawthorne Park in Chicago.

The Giacomo/Tiago connections go beyond bloodlines.

Recording industry impresario Jerry Moss – he co-founded A&M Records with Herb Alpert – made Giacomo a namesake of the son of one of his most successful artists, Sting. Tiago is the namesake of a son of Sergio Mendes, leader of Brasil '66 and later versions.

Both names translate to “James,” Giacomo from Italian and Tiago from Portuguese.

When the inevitable Giacomo/Tiago comparison question was posed yesterday, Shirreffs was ready.

“Tiago has a little more turn of foot (late burst of speed),” Shirreffs said. “Giacomo had that wonderful consistent long stride but Tiago, you can move him around a little bit more.”

Giacomo, in his first season as a Kentucky-based stallion, and Tiago share a come-from-behind running style that works best when the early pace is swift.

The pace was quick enough yesterday to set up the late run that enabled Tiago to cross under the wire first for the first time in his career. The colt's previous “victory” came by disqualification, accounting for his long odds yesterday.

Tiago had career earnings of $34,320 before hitting the $450,000 winner's share jackpot yesterday.

“I just can't imagine how a horse can go from a maiden (non-winners) race to a Grade I, what kind of a leap is that? That's unbelievable,” Shirreffs said. “Where it stops or whether it continues, I don't know.”

Favored (5-2) Sam P. and 22-1 long shot Black Seventeen vied through quarters of :23.10 and :46.95 for the first half-mile yesterday. Sam P. persevered to finish third, 2¾ -lengths behind King of the Roxy; Black Seventeen retreated to eighth.

Liquidity, one of four Kentucky Derby candidates for trainer Doug O'Neill, was positioned to pounce and moved to a short lead turning into the stretch but could do no better than fourth.

O'Neill trains Liquidity and Cobalt Blue for owner J. Paul Reddam. While the performances of the two were disappointing, O'Neill wasn't prepared to eliminate either from the Kentucky Derby trail.

“We're grateful to be involved in these kind of races,” O'Neill said. “You're going to have good days and bad days and this has, unfortunately, been a bad one.

“We'll regroup, talk to Mr. Reddam and if he doesn't fire me, we'll be in good shape.”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20070408-9999-1s8derby.html

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

Tiago is music to Moss' ears
By Kevin Modesti Staff Writer

ARCADIA - Jerry Moss, the Grammy-winning pop-music impresario, enjoyed the racetrack equivalent of a cover version at the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday.
Tiago's out-of-the-clouds victory played like a live rendition of Giacomo's greatest hit, featuring the same energetic backing band.

"It hasn't quite hit me yet," said Moss, breeder and owner of both horses. "It's me and Ann and Dottie and John and Mike again. It's really a nice feeling."

Two years ago, when Giacomo won the Kentucky Derby with a stunning stretch run at 50-1 odds, it was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Moss and his wife Ann, their racing manager Dottie Shirreffs, trainer John Shirreffs, jockey Mike Smith and groom Frank Leal.

But Tiago has come as close to duplicating that drama as was possible in a less-than-star-studded edition of the Santa Anita Derby. The 29-1 long shot weaved from second to last among 10 horses to a half-length victory over King of the Roxy in front of 56,810 fans.

It was, incredibly, the first time Tiago finished first in a race, his only victory in three previous races having come by disqualification in a January maiden race.

Was the brown-coated Tiago's victory in a Kentucky Derby prep race merely a pale imitation of the gray Giacomo's win in the Derby itself?
"It's equally gratifying," Jerry Moss, 71, said. "Since we bred these horses, seen them grow and train, to see them win a race like this is very gratifying."

Tiago earned a shot at the May 5 Kentucky Derby, perhaps the only 3-year-old to do so in a slow Santa Anita Derby in which the distance-challenged King of the Roxy easily out-ran third-place favorite Sam P. and fourth-place Liquidity.

Tiago won't be welcomed to Churchill Downs as a top contender because of his 1:49.51 clocking for 1<MD+,%30,%55,%70>1/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>8 miles and the race's 13.49 final eighth - and the general disrespect for Saturday's field - but he won't be overlooked like Giacomo was.

The similarities make a discussion of the two colts sound like, well, a broken record.

Tiago and Giacomo are half-brothers, both out of the Mosses' mare Set Them Free. Tiago is by Pleasant Tap.

They're named after children of friends and business associates of Moss, the co-founder with Herb Alpert of A&M Records. Tiago is named for the son of jazz pianist Sergio Mendes, Giacomo for the son of Sting.

And they're the products of characteristically patient preparation by Shirreffs, the 61-year-old trainer based at Hollywood Park. Tiago jumped up after finishing seventh last time out in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes, as Giacomo had stunned the Louisville crowd after finishing fourth to Buzzards Bay in his Santa Anita Derby.

Tiago ($60.60), 11 lengths behind front-runners Black Seventeen and Sam P. after an average-paced half-mile, began his rally three-wide on the second turn. He cut to the inside rail, angled out and then came in again to take the lead from King of the Roxy five strides from the wire as Smith whipped left-handed.

"He finished like Giacomo did in the Kentucky Derby," Smith said. "At the eighth pole, he hit another gear."

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/sports/ci_5620562

 

[Harry]

It's Kentucky Derby Day!

http://www.kentucky.com/285/story/59537.html

2nd run for roses for Tiago backers
OWNERS, TRAINER, JOCKEY ALL BACK FOR GIACOMO'S BROTHER
By John Clay
[email protected]

Mark Cornelison
Tiago, with Franie Herrarte up, came around the turn at Churchill Downs yesterday in preparation for Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Tiago was ninth out of 10 horses in the Santa Anita Derby before rallying down the stretch to win the Grade I prep on April 7. Photo by Mark Cornelison | Staff

LOUISVILLE --It's like the family trip in which everyone has a glorious time except the poor sibling who got left behind.
Jerry and Ann Moss, John and Dottie Shirreffs, Mike Smith, they all had such grand fun capturing the 2005 Kentucky Derby with upset winner Giacomo, they just had to come back again, this time with Giacomo's little brother, Santa Anita Derby winner Tiago.

"There are a lot of similarities," Moss said yesterday.

The gang's all here, all right.

There's Shirreffs, the unassuming 61-year-old trainer, wearing his familiar "Mill Ridge" cap, with the strap around the back of his head to hold on his eye-glasses. There's his wife, Dottie Ingordo, the Mosses' racing manager who arranged the mating of Tiago's dam, Set Them Free, with the sire, Pleasant Tap.

There's Moss, the former A&M Records mogul and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, tall and lanky, the coolest soon-to-be 72-year-old (next Wednesday) you know, his longish silver hair sneaking out from the back of his blue Tiago cap. There's his wife, Anne, just back from the backstretch souvenir stand where she purchased her "Derby 133" hats.

There's Smith, the 41-year-old jockey who rode Giacomo to victory, signing autographs outside Barn 41, where Shirreffs just happened (wink) to bring along Giacomo's old webbing from the Belmont.

"It's incredible; it's a little unbelievable," Smith said. "These people work a lifetime to make it here and then you make it back with the same connections, a half brother. It's really quite a story. It's certainly special enough in its own right, but can you imagine to have it all come back again?"

Jerry Moss couldn't imagine it.

"This is incredible," he said yesterday, standing at the gap, waiting for Tiago to take the track. "Just incredible."

Starting with the dam. If Tiago wins Saturday, the Mosses' Set Them Free will be the first broodmare in history to bear two Kentucky Derby winners.

There's the name. Giacomo was named after the son of the musician Sting, a close friend of Moss. Tiago is named after the son of Sergio Mendes, whose first album went platinum on Moss's A&M label. Translated, both Giacomo and Tiago mean James.

There's the running style. Giacomo rallied from 18th to pick up the shattered pieces of a full field and win the 2005 Derby at a record 50-1. Tiago was ninth out of 10 horses in the Santa Anita Derby before rallying down the stretch under Smith to win that Grade I prep April 7.

"Because of the graded earnings," Moss said, "we had to finish first or second in the Santa Anita Derby just to get here."

Immature physically, Tiago raced once as a 2-year-old, placing third in a maiden race at Santa Anita. He returned to win through disqualification in his 3-year-old debut, an effort that gave both Shirreffs and Moss cause to think they might have something.

Next time out, however, Tiago ran a distressing seventh in the Robert Lewis Stakes, won by Great Hunter on March 3.

"We were really at a loss after that race," Shirreffs said. "But when we looked at it, he had been on the outside in his other two races and hadn't gotten a lot of dirt in his face. This race, he was on the rail and he didn't handle it well."

"He's always been a real good work horse," Moss said. "But after three races we didn't know what we had. Then John got Mike Smith involved and we made some changes and everything went in the right direction."

Said Smith: "What I love about Tiago is that he has a lot quicker turn of foot. He's kind of got an explosive kick where Giacomo, he had that long, big stride that kept coming at you. That's about the only difference."

"They are very similar," Shirreffs said.

Come Saturday, Tiago will bring something else with him from his sibling. After Giacomo was retired, Dottie Shirreffs displayed his silks from the Breeders' Cup in her office. Or she did until she presented them to Smith to wear while riding Tiago in -- you guessed it -- the Santa Anita Derby.

Will Smith be wearing those same silks in the Kentucky Derby?

"Oh, yes," Jerry Moss said. "He sure will."

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Just a "bump" to remind you that the race goes off 15 minutes after this post!

 

[Rudy]

Just a "bump" to remind you that the race goes off 15 minutes after this post!

Nothing on ESPN about the outcome, yet.

 

[Harry]

Tiago finished seventh. Winner was Street Sense. Coverage was on NBC.

Harry

 

[Rudy]

ESPN.com only reported the first three positions.

 

[Steve Sidoruk]

KENTUCKY DERBY | THE DIARY
Playing the name game
May 3, 2007

A daily look at Kentucky Derby contender Tiago, winner of the Santa Anita Derby and a half-brother of 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo. Today, Jerry Moss, the A&M Records co-founder who owns Tiago along with his wife, Ann, talks to Times staff writer Robyn Norwood about the link between the horses' names and the musicians Sting and Sergio Mendes.

We always name horses after our friends. We don't really talk about it that much. Usually, the way we sort of announce it is by sending them a winning picture. If there are no winning pictures, then usually they never hear about it. It would be too much pressure, because sometimes horses end up being geldings, or they end up claiming horses.

Giacomo was named after Sting's son. I think he's around 12 now. We had a little party for Giacomo at our house about a week after he won the Derby, and Sergio and his wife, Gracinha, performed. They're good old friends, and Gracinha said to Annie at the party, "You know, Tiago's name means the same as Giacomo, which is James." Their son Tiago is almost 14 now.

Annie said, "Gee, that's a great idea. If the name's free, you've got it." So this is perfect, because his sire is Pleasant Tap, and we've got a "T," and Tiago and Tap. It just sort of worked out. They won't be here [at Louisville] Saturday. Sergio's got a date in California. But they came out last weekend and met the horse for the first time. I don't know if there are any more translations of James for us to use. Jaime, Jamal?

Having won this race is quite amazing. This is a historical thing. It's the biggest race in the world, and you dream about getting into it. It took us at least 30 years to make it here the first time. To come back two years later after having won it is just an awesome feeling.

L.A. Times
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-diary3may03,0,7663047.story?coll=la-home-sports