Slew’s Tiz Whiz stays hot, wins the 87th Longacres Mile

Trainer Tom Wenzel calls Slew’s Tiz Whiz an overachiever.

He can now call him something else: a Longacres Mile winner.

Slew’s Tiz Whiz ran down fellow Washington-bred Papa’s Golden Boy to win Sunday’s $150,000 race by 2 3/4 lengths at Auburn’s Emerald Downs.

That is pretty heady stuff for a horse who began his career competing in $15,000 claiming races.

Fortunately for K D Thoroughbreds, no one claimed Slew’s Tiz Whiz, whose steady improvement culminated with Sunday’s win in the 87th running of the Longacres Mile, the most prestigious horse race in the Northwest.

“This horse is an overachiever, and I’m just so proud of this horse,” said Wenzel, who also won the Mile in 2007 with The Great Face.

Papa’s Golden Boy held on for second and Five Star General was third.

Background, the defending champion owned by longtime Husky radio voice Bob Rondeau and his wife, Molly, finished fifth.

The speedy Papa’s Golden Boy was forced a bit wide from the No. 12 post but secured the lead and led by three lengths entering the stretch.

Slew’s Tiz Whiz, who had a nice ground-saving trip under Jose Zunino, angled outside in the stretch and pulled away for the victory.

It was a similar scenario last month in the Governor’s Handicap, a prep race for the Mile, when Slew’s Tiz Whiz charged past Papa’s Golden Boy at 9-1.

Slew’s Tiz Whiz, a 4-year-old gelding, ran the mile in 1 minutes, 34.46 seconds and paid $8.80 to win as the second choice in the wagering.

Favored Top Executive at 3.20-1 finished fourth.

Zunino said he was confident the entire race and said the horse was ready to pounce when he asked him for his best.

“He’s the best; he does everything,” Zunino said.

Wenzel loved the position of his horse, who was sixth early in the race.

“We just huddled up on the rail from the (No. 1) post position and we tried to save ground and make a race of it,” Wenzel said. “Luckily when this horse comes to the stretch and you ask him, he’s a real trier. And it’s really fun to watch a horse like this run.”

It was the third straight win for Slew’s Tiz Whiz, who started the winning streak with a win in an allowance race.

“We got really sharp and then when we won that allowance race, and from there the last two races have been just superb,” Wenzel said.

Slew’s Tiz Whiz was bred by longtime top breeder Karl Krieg, who died in 2019.

“I know Karl was helping a lot today in this race, absolutely,” Wenzel said. “He put wings on this horse again for us.”