Santa Anita winner has a Kentucky flavor

By: JEFF NAHILL - Staff Writer | Saturday, April 7, 2007 11:23 PM PDT ∞

ARCADIA ---- Most experts expected Saturday's Santa Anita Derby to be a wide open race, but not thiswide open.

The last West Coast prep for the Kentucky Derby was won by Tiago ($60.60), a 3-year-old who had never crossed the finish first in his life, but has some very familiar connections.

Tiago was ridden by Mike Smith. He is trained John Shirreffs. He is owned Jerome and Ann Moss.

Can you say Giacomo? That's right, Tiago is a half-brother of the 2005 Kentucky Derby winner, but it's doubtful Tiago will be 50-1 on the first Saturday of May. He seems to have a touch more talent.

"John got this horse in the right place at the right time," said Jerome Moss, who was the "M" of the famous A&M Records. "I hope (Tiago) has more to give us. We know this race will take something out of him."

Tiago came into the race off a seventh-place finish in the March 3 Robert B. Lewis. He broke his maiden on Jan. 21 when Spankey Come Home was disqualified.

Not exactly Derby qualifications.

But Sherriffs made changes. He took the blinkers off and changed the colt's bit. And he called his old buddy Smith.

The Hall of Fame jockey stayed in California all week, working and galloping the horse.

"I think we need to immortalize Mike's left arm," said Moss, referring to Smith's whipping in a stretch run that saw Tiago pass four horses and win going away, a half-length over King of the Roxy. "Mike is the hardest-working man in show business. He had a twinkle in his eye this week when he got on the horse. It's such a pleasure to share the joy with him."

Long shot Black Seventeen and favored Sam P. battled for the early lead, with Liquidity and King of the Roxy not far behind. At the head of the stretch, King of the Roxy wrested the lead away, with Sam P. hanging in under persistent whipping by Ramon Dominguez. Just behind was Smith.

Tiago found an opening and bolted for the lead, hitting the wire in 1 minute, 49.51 seconds before 56,810 spectators, the largest crowd for the Santa Anita Derby since 1994.

It was the slowest derby since Came Home won in 2002 in 1:50.02.

"We thought we'd be back further today with the blinkers off," said Smith. "He ran a picture-perfect race. He finished today like Giacomo did the Kentucky Derby.

"I thought there would be plenty of pace and that they'd come back to us, and they did. I did want to make sure to keep him focused, keep him moving forward.

"I'll tell you, at the eighth pole, he hit another gear."

The soft-spoken Sherriffs couldn't say enough good things.

"Tiago has such a turn of foot," he said. "He can really accelerate. Giacomo had those long strides.

"This was such a huge step. I can't imagine going from a maiden to a Grade I. It's unbelievable. Where it stops, I don't know."

If history tells us anything, it just might end up with a bunch of roses.

-- Contact staff writer Jeff Nahill at (760) 740-3550 or jnahill@nctimes.com.