Up against it behind the lone speed of American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) when fifth for the second straight year in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic Oct. 31, Tonalist (Tapit) did not look to be going especially well on the turn in Saturday's GI Cigar Mile H., but, guided to the middle of the track entering the stretch, the 'TDN Rising Star' found another couple of gears late and outfinished stablemate Red Vine (Candy Ride {Arg}) to land the year's final Grade I on the East Coast.
Accorded his Rising Star off a wide-trip maiden victory at second asking last January, Tonalist won the GII Peter Pan S. and followed up with a last-jump success in the GI Belmont S. Runner-up in the GII Jim Dandy S. and third in the GI Travers S., the bay overcame some trouble to overwhelm his rivals in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup before his Breeders' Cup effort. Resuming at a mile for his first two starts of 2015, Tonalist earned a career-best 111 Beyer for a 3 3/4-length victory in the GIII Westchester S. before a no-disgrace runner-up effort behind fellow Rising Star Honor Code (A.P. Indy) in the GI Met Mile June 6. Given a suspect ride when second to recent GI Clark H. hero Effinex (Mineshaft) in the GII Suburban H. July 4, he was a fast-finishing third in Honor Code's GI Whitney H. Tally Aug. 8, then joined an elite group of horses to record multiple victories in the Gold Cup Oct. 3. Tonalist was ridden forward given the apparent lack of speed in this year's Classic and the tactic backfired, as he tired to finish better than a dozen lengths behind American Pharoah.
It looked–on paper, at least–that Tonalist and the four other entrants in the Cigar had it all to do, with defending champion Private Zone (Macho Uno) owning a massive tactical advantage, given his abundant early speed. The latter, who touched 4-5, but was off at 6-5, jumped best, but was immediately grabbed hold of by his regular rider Martin Pedroza, and the same animal who clocked :22.18 for the opening quarter-mile in the 2014 running, was timed in :24.15 this time around, with horse looking as if he was hitting potholes on the Belt Parkway. Red Vine, most recently runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, pressed through up the fence to close the gap from second, with Matrooh widest out and Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro) not far away from fourth. Tonalist had only Full of Mine (Mineshaft) behind as they neared the end of the backstretch run. Pedroza continued to nurse along Private Zone on the turn, attempting to save something for the stretch, and while the three runners immediately behind looked poised to pounce, the longer-winded Tonalist appeared more flat-footed as he was pulled out widest nearing the lane. Private Zone led grimly into the final furlong and a half, but was confronted to his outside by Matrooh and Mshawish as Red Vine was strung up behind Private Zone. Mshawish seemed to be doing the best work, but Tonalist was finally finding his best stride and closed powerfully to be up in the shadow of the post. Red Vine got through between Matrooh and Mshawish, but the lost momentum outside the eighth pole proved decisive. Tonalist was the 100th winner on the season for the Christophe Clement stable. Both the winner and runner-up are reportedly remaining in training in 2016.
“I'm always a little bit worried when I run him,” Clement admitted. “The race was run in a funny way; they went so slow early on, which I didn't think was great for us. But that's what good horses do–they win and they overcome things. Great ride by Johnny [Velazquez]. I'm a very lucky man. They both ran very well. Joel [Rosario] came back and said he was very unlucky [on Red Vine]. The fun thing for me, as a trainer, was having the two best horses in the race. I'll have to talk with Mr. [Robert] Evans [about next year], but no matter what, they're both going to have a break.”
Tonalist was bred by Rene and Lauren Woolcott's Woodslane Farm and that couple retains the mare's 3-year-old filly Settle N' Speight (Speightstown), who is a maiden winner in four starts this season for trainer Arnaud Delacour. The Woolcotts sold Settling Mist to owner Charles Fipke in a private transaction, and the mare's current 2-year-old Tale of Mist (Tale of Ekati) was third in a one-mile Aqueduct maiden Nov. 22. Settling Mist's yearling filly by Fipke's Jersey Town (Speightstown) was a $500,000 purchase at this year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. Tha mare did not produce a foal in 2015 and was bred back to Tapit this season.
Saturday, Aqueduct
CIGAR MILE H.-GI, $670,000, AQU, 11-28, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:37.14, ft.
1–TONALIST, 124, c, 4, by Tapit
1st Dam: Settling Mist, by Pleasant Colony
2nd Dam: Toll Fee, by Topsider
3rd Dam: Toll Booth, by Buckpasser
'TDN Rising Star' ($195,000 RNA Ylg '12 FTSAUG). O-Robert S.
Evans; B-Woodslane Farm (KY); T-Christophe Clement; J-John
R. Velazquez. $450,000. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 16-7-4-2,
$3,647,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”lawley-wakelin-tonalist”][bullet ad=”sweezey-partners-consigned-by-sweezey-partners”][bullet ad=”eqb-cardioclient”][bullet ad=”kbif-g1″]
2–Red Vine, 118, h, 5, Candy Ride (Arg)–Murky Waters, by
Storm Creek. ($200,000 Ylg '11 FTSAUG; $290,000 RNA 2yo '12
FTFMAR). O-Don & Joan Cimpl & Jon & Sarah Kelly; B-Alastar
Thoroughbred Co. (KY); T-Christophe Clement. $100,000.[bullet ad=”xavier-yearling-purchase”][bullet ad=”ramonagood-corinthians9-15″]
3–Matrooh, 116, g, 5, Distorted Humor–Rockcide, by Personal
Flag. ($550,000 Ylg '11 KEESEP). O-Shadwell Stable; B-WinStar
Farm LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $50,000.[bullet ad=”denali-bredbywinstarsoldbydenali”]
Margins: NK, NK, 3/4. Odds: 2.20, 3.80, 7.30.
Also Ran: Mshawish, Private Zone, Full of Mine. Scratched: Marking.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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