Tom's d'Etat Returns in Oaklawn Mile

After Tom's d'Etat won the Nov. 29 Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare (G1), his first grade 1 victory, trainer Al Stall Jr. quickly came up with a plan. 

He wanted to give the 7-year-old son of Smart Strike the winter off and bring him back to the races April 11 to start a campaign that would bring him to Keeneland for the Nov. 7 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).

About 4 1/2 months later, everything has worked out as hoped—at least where the horse is concerned.

Though Tom's d'Etat's works on the comeback trail have been ideal, however, and he is indeed scheduled to make his 2020 debut Saturday, Stall's plans—like the intentions of most trainers—have been altered by the horrible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tom's d'Etat was supposed to kick off the year in the Ben Ali Stakes (G3), but with the Keeneland meet canceled because of the pandemic, Stall had to shift gears and send his horse to Oaklawn Park in Arkansas for the $150,000 Oaklawn Mile Stakes.

"I wanted to give him a breather after the Clark and run him April 11 in the Ben Ali. Now he'll be running April 11, though not in the race we picked out. But at this point, I'm glad we have a backup," Stall said.

With only a handful of tracks across the nation scheduled to be open Saturday and stakes opportunities becoming increasingly scarce, the Oaklawn Mile wound up with a considerably larger and tougher field than anyone could have envisioned in November.

Aside from Tom's d'Etat, the field of 14 includes grade 1-placed multiple grade 3 winner Mr. Money; Improbable, the beaten favorite in last year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1); Pioneer Spirit, who was third by a length in last year's Oaklawn Mile; and even grade 2 winner Long Range Toddy, who was part of the infamous bumping incident in the 2019 Kentucky Derby that led to Maximum Security's disqualification.

"It's a lot deeper field than it would have because of a lack of opportunities around the country. A lot of people found themselves in this spot," said Bret Calhoun, who trains Allied Racing Stable's Mr. Money, a winner of four consecutive grade 3 stakes a year ago. "It's good that they've been able to stay open, and they've gotten deeper fields and much more solid fields in races that wouldn't have been as strong. I like what they're doing, and I appreciate what they're doing at Oaklawn."

The way Tom's d'Etat ended 2019, there was surely sufficient cause for Stall to consider running him in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1) in late January. The winner of nine of 16 starts with earnings of $1,236,572 closed the year with a 4 1/4-length score in the Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, followed by his 3 1/4-length blowout in the Clark.  

"We were very happy for the horse," Stall said about the Clark. "He showed so much talent. He's just been nagged by little injuries here and there, and the next thing you know, he's 6 years old. He deserved a race like that. He won wrapped up at the end, which is impressive in a grade 1 stakes."

Yet after Tom's d'Etat finished 27 1/4 lengths behind on a sloppy track in the 2019 Pegasus, Stall opted for some rest after his decisive win at Churchill Downs and a bigger year-end target in the Breeders' Cup.

Given how well the G M B Racing runner has trained leading up to Saturday's race, Stall is more certain than ever that he made a wise decision. 

"He's doing great. He's had an excellent winter. From the day after the Clark, he's had a smooth winter. At his age, I wanted to keep him with me. I did a lot of walking for a few weeks and did a lot of jogging. Just galloped him for a long time. He had his first breeze Feb. 1 and hit every mark that we pointed for. He's been on top of it the whole time," said Stall, whose horse landed post 3. "We're looking for a big year from him. We don't see any signs of him tailing off. He actually might be a little better than he's been. We're looking forward to Saturday and going forward from there."

While Stall has a November date circled on his calendar, he's more uncertain about what will happen immediately after Saturday's race. He said he plans to ship all 45 of his horses to Churchill Downs once the Louisville track opens for training and is hopeful of finding a graded stakes there for his grade 1 winner.

Calhoun also had other plans for Mr. Money. 

He intended to bring the son of Goldencents  back in the seven-furlong Commonwealth Stakes (G3), which was scheduled for April 4 at Keeneland, but wound up in Arkansas with post 2 for the Oaklawn Mile.

"He's trained very, very well. He enjoyed his time off," Calhoun said. "It was just to freshen him after a successful 3-year-old campaign. It's a good spot to get started. We're hoping he'll show he made a nice transition from 3 to 4, and we don't believe there's a reason why he shouldn't. He went to the shelf in good order, and he's coming back from it that way."

Mr. Money was last seen finishing seventh in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), which capped a 3-year-old season that featured a foursome of stakes wins and a loss by a neck in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) in his start before the World Championships.

"He had a tremendous campaign last year," Calhoun said about the winner of five of 12 starts with earnings of $1,287,220. "I don't think he loved the track (at Santa Anita Park) that day for the Breeders' Cup. When you look back, you didn't see it in his works before the Breeders' Cup, but he was at the end of a campaign and needed a rest. Hindsight is always 20/20."

Like the situation Stall is facing with Tom's d'Etat, what's next for the 4-year-old Mr. Money is a rather large question mark.

"Not knowing what anyone will do in the next few months makes it hard to plan. The good thing is we'll get this under his belt, and hopefully things will become clearer 30 days from now. Anything from a mile to 1 1/8 miles will be fine," Calhoun said. "Obviously, we'd love to get a grade 1 win for him. That would be the ultimate goal for him, and we'll be looking for grade 1 and grade 2 races for him down the road."

Calhoun's stable at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots is also in a holding pattern, awaiting word on when other tracks will open.

"It's going fine at Fair Grounds," he said. "It's not ideal training four days a week, and I wish it was five days to give us some rhythm. There's some inconveniences, but we feel fortunate to have a place where we can stable and train."

Improbable is following a similar path to the Oaklawn Mile. Now 4, the son of City Zip was fourth in the Pennsylvania Derby—as the favorite—and has not raced since finishing fifth in the Dirt Mile.

Owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing and trained by Bob Baffert, Improbable is returning to Oaklawn Park, where he was second in last year's Rebel Stakes (G2) and Arkansas Derby (G1).

"I think a little time off helped him. He had sort of a very disappointing year, up and down," Baffert said. "He's been training really well, filled out some."

The post position draw did not help Improbable and jockey Drayden Van Dyke much as post 14 and a short run to the first turn could create a headache for a horse who often gets antsy in the starting gate and breaks tardily.

Willis Horton Racing's Long Range Toddy beat Improbable in a division of the Rebel but did little of note after that. In five subsequent starts, his only showing better than a fifth was a distant third in the Ohio Derby (G3). Unraced since finishing seventh in the Sept. 29 Oklahoma Derby (G3), the son of Take Charge Indy  will be making his 2020 debut and first start since shifting barns from Steve Asmussen to trainer Dallas Stewart.

Asmussen will be represented in Saturday's stakes by the trio of Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Bankit, Ed and Susie Orr's Boldor, and Bloom Racing Stable's Snapper Sinclair. 

Bankit, a New York-bred son of Central Banker , was seventh in the March 14 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn on a sloppy track. Prior to that, he lost by a head to Warrior's Charge in the Razorback Handicap (G3), also at Oaklawn.

Boldor, a Munnings  4-year-old, is stretching out after finishing fourth in the six-furlong Hot Springs Stakes last time out.

Snapper Sinclair, a 5-year-old son of City Zip, is coming off a trio of starts at Oaklawn in which he was second in the Essex, third in the Razorback, and second in the Fifth Season Stakes.

Pioneer Spirit has experience on the track that could come in handy. Trained by Robertino Diodoro, who has a meet-high 46 wins, the son of Malibu Moon  won the Fifth Season Stakes, then was fourth in the Razorback and third in the Essex as the 9-5 favorite.

Entries: Oaklawn Mile S.

Oaklawn Park, Saturday, April 11, 2020, Race 9

• STK
• 1m
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:43 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Slick Silver (FL)	Christopher A. Emigh	122	Brittany A. Vanden Berg	30/1
2	2Mr. Money (KY)	Gabriel Saez	122	W. Bret Calhoun	4/1
3	3Tom's d'Etat (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Albert M. Stall, Jr.	3/1
4	4Pioneer Spirit (KY)	David Cohen	122	Robertino Diodoro	6/1
5	5Boldor (VA)	Tyler Baze	122	Steven M. Asmussen	20/1
6	6M G Warrior (KY)	Joseph Talamo	119	Brad H. Cox	15/1
7	7Snapper Sinclair (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Steven M. Asmussen	10/1
8	8Bankit (NY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	122	Steven M. Asmussen	15/1
9	9Home Run Trick (FL)	Walter De La Cruz	119	William N. Martin	30/1
10	10Long Range Toddy (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	122	Dallas Stewart	10/1
11	11Lord Guinness (KY)	Ruben Fuentes	117	Tim Yakteen	30/1
12	12Kershaw (KY)	Fernando De La Cruz	115	Philip D'Amato	20/1
13	13Fight On (KY)	Ramon A. Vazquez	122	Doug F. O'Neill	20/1
14	14Improbable (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	122	Bob Baffert	7/2