Nobiz Like Shobiz
| Nobiz Like Shobiz | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Albert the Great |
| Grandsire | Go for Gin |
| Dam | Nightstorm |
| Damsire | Storm Cat |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 2004 |
| Country | United States  |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Elizabeth J. Valando |
| Owner | Elizabeth J. Valando |
| Trainer | Barclay Tagg |
| Record | 9: 5-2-1 |
| Earnings | $930,600 (to date) |
| Major wins | |
| Remsen Stakes (2006) Holy Bull Stakes (2007) Wood Memorial Stakes (2007) National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Handicap (2007) | |
| Last updated on August 6, 2007 | |
Nobiz Like Shobiz (born January 29, 2004) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse, currently considered a top contender for the 2007 U.S. Triple Crown series of races.
The horse was given the name Nobiz Like Shobiz by his show business owner Elizabeth J. Valando whose late husband Tommy Valando was a Broadway theatre producer and owner of an important music publishing business. She and her husband owned Fly So Free, the 1990 U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old who won that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Nobiz Like Shobiz was sired by multiple Graded stakes race winner, Albert the Great, a son of the 1994 Kentucky Derby winner, Go for Gin. His damsire is Storm Cat, currently the stallion with the highest breeding fee in the world. Trained by Barclay Tagg who notably trained Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Funny Cide, Nobiz Like Shobiz was an awkward colt who did not start his racing career until late in his two-year-old season. Tagg said of his first sight of the colt on a Florida farm, "Before he jogged three steps, I called Elizabeth Valando and said, 'This is the most gorgeous horse I've ever seen. If he's not a Triple Crown candidate, they've never made one.'" [citation needed] When Nobiz did make his debut in early September of 2006 at Belmont Park, it was an impressive one. Racing at a distance of a full mile, he won by 10 3/4 lengths.
The colt competed for the second time in mid October in the important Champagne Stakes against two-year-olds, many of whom had more racing experience. Nobiz Like Shobiz finished second by ¾ of a length to Scat Daddy who overtook him in the homestretch. Although he had run a solid race, his trainer chose to skip the November 4th $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile, preferring to allow the colt to mature more while continuing his training.
As such, his next outing, and last of 2006, was in the Grade-2 $200,00 US Remsen Stakes where he won by an impressive 6 1/2-lengths. He earned a very respective Beyer Speed Figure of 97 and his time of (1:48.82) was the fastest Remsen at the distance since 1977, when Believe It won in (1:47.80).[1] Nobiz Like Shobiz was wintered in Barn 16 at Gulfstream Park in Florida along with Funny Cide.
Barclay Tagg had indicated for 2007 he would enter Nobiz Like Shobiz into three prep races—all at 1 1/8 mile—before the Kentucky Derby. The first would be the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes on February 3rd. Going off as the favorite, Nobiz Like Shobiz outran his rival Scat Daddy and won going away by one and one/half lengths. In the March 3rd Fountain of Youth Stakes he lugged in during the stretch and finished third. Equipped with blinkers, he held off a late rally from longshot Sightseeing to win the G1 Wood Memorial Stakes by 1/2 length as the 7/10 favorite. Second choice Any Given Saturday (3/2 odds) was 3 3/4 lengths behind the winner in third.
Nobiz Like Shobiz had a seemingly perfect trip in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, stalking the pace in 4th into the stretch. As he angled to the outside for his stretch run under jockey Cornelio Velasquez, the pace of the race picked up dramatically and Nobiz Like Shobiz failed to generate a late run, finishing 10th in the full field of 20. It is uncertain where and when Nobiz Like Shobiz will race next.
On August 6th, 2007, Nobiz won the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Handicap under Cornelio Velazquez. It was his first attempt at the turf.
In September of 2006, after winning his first race by over 10 lengths, Nobiz's owner Elizabeth J Valando was offered $17 million for him by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. She turned it down.[2]