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Playing it smarter crucial for wild Therecomesatiger

Energetic. Mischievous. Unpredictable.

By DON JENSEN,Times Correspondent
Published February 24, 2007

OLDSMAR - Energetic. Mischievous. Unpredictable.

Trainer Tom Proctor has his own Dennis the Menace to deal with every time he saddles Therecomesatiger.

"I don't think you'd have enough space to write if I told you everything about Tiger," he said. "When we first started with him, he was a problem child. He is like one of those big, dumb kids that will run over you if he has to."

Therecomesatiger must be smarter and faster than ever today when he tackles a strong field in the $150,000 Tampa Bay Breeders' Cup at Tampa Bay Downs.

Grade III winners Defer, Hotstufanthensome and Saint Stephen are expected to start, and the field could have been tougher with English Channel, a multiple Grade I winner, slated to run. But trainer Todd Pletcher, who said his horse needed "a race under his belt" in preparation for the Dubai World Cup on March 31, put him in an allowance race Thursday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, where he won in course-record time.

Therecomesatiger comes in with solid credentials. He has earned $284,036 and won six of 13 races, including the 2005 Commonwealth Turf at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and the 2006 Sea O'Erin Stakes at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill., where he beat Fort Prado, winner of last season's Tampa Bay Breeders' Cup and 2006 Illinois horse of the year. Jose Ferrer has the riding assignment.

Despite being based in Ocala by owner Charles Patton, the 5-year-old homebred gelding by Tiger Ridge will be making only his second start at the Downs. His debut at the Oldsmar track was a winning one, rallying to defeat Cherokee Prince by 11/2 lengths in a 11/16th-mile turf allowance race Jan. 30.

"He has trained for four years (at Downs), but he was as bad a horse in the starting gate that I've ever seen," said Proctor, 50, one of the Downs' leading trainers. "He must have worked out of the gate 50 to 60 times. His temperament comes from his mom's side (Come Tight), because her babies have always been hard to get along with."

Several gate incidents during morning workouts show Therecomesatiger's true spirit, Downs starter Ron Dill said.

"Once he kicked a door open with a hind leg, kicked the other one open with his second hind leg, and then backed out of the gate," Dill said. "I'd never seen a horse do that before.

"There was also the time we had someone crawl up next to him on his offside in the gate. He turned his head toward the assistant with a 'No, you're not going to do that' look."

Therecomesatiger developed foot problems last year, throwing a shoe three days before a sixth-place finish in the Grade I Woodbine Mile on Sept. 17 in Toronto.

"He wasn't the same horse after that," Proctor said. "His foot issues weren't being addressed properly, so we gave him time off. He's much better now."

The attention provided by assistant trainer Nicky Carrillo led to Therecomesatiger's mental turnaround, Proctor said. Denny Knack, a Dill assistant, spent much time teaching the horse to relax in the gate.

There have been changes in Proctor's life, too. He has gone from being a private to a public trainer and doesn't handle as many horses for Glen Hill Farm in Ocala, where his brother, Harry (Hap) Proctor, is the manager. And he has dealt with several personal issues, including the loss of his mother, Margaret, in June. His late father, Willard, is a member of the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Proctor's biggest career win came in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Distaff when 47-1 shot One Dreamer defeated a field that included Eclipse Award winners Sky Beauty and Hollywood Wildcat at Churchill Downs.

As Therecomesatiger charges out of the gate today, Dill said, he won't be difficult to follow.

"When we see those orange-colored blinkers, we say, 'There goes the Tiger,' " Dill said. "He's one of a kind."

[Last modified February 23, 2007, 23:18:25]