Tom's d'Etat Dominates Stephen Foster Stakes
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Photo: Coady Photography
Tom's d'Etat wins the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs
It's been a long road for Tom's d'Etat. A Kentucky-bred son of Smart Strike, the striking bay spent the first three years of his career searching for a black-type win.
Now at 7, Tom's d'Etat is on the win streak of a lifetime. With a dominating 4 1/4-length score in the $500,000 Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) June 27 at Churchill Downs, the hard-knocking runner stamped his ticket to the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) with his fourth consecutive stakes win.
"You can't explain it because it's not supposed to happen in this business," trainer Al Stall Jr. said. "He's obviously had quite a few breaks along the line for various reasons like nagging injuries, and maybe that's helped his longevity."
Tom's d'Etat makes his move en route to victory
Facing a field of seven others in the 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster, Tom's d'Etat broke sharply from post 5 and was guided to the front by jockey Miguel Mena. Settled just off the rail, Tom's d'Etat settled back in second as Pirate's Punch showed early speed to take the lead and click off fractions of :23.89 and :48.13 for the half-mile.
By My Standards and Alkhaatam pressed the pace outside the rail on the backside and dueled for third. Tom's d'Etat managed to edge his nose in front of Pirate's Punch at the three-eighths pole and was in the lead by a head as six furlongs were clocked in 1:11.67. Mena guided his mount out even wider exiting the turn, and the pair were firmly in control at the top of the lane by two lengths.
By My Standards made his own bid for the lead at the three-eighths pole but was no match for Tom's d'Etat, who drew away in midstretch and increased his lead all the way to the wire, finishing in 1:47.30 on a fast track. Silver Dust was third, 2 3/4 lengths behind runner-up By My Standards.
Multiplier, Owendale, Fearless, Pirate's Punch, and Alkhaatam completed the order of finish.
"I knew he was a lot of fun to ride him in the morning but didn't realize how much fun he was in the afternoon," said Mena, who was given an opportunity to ride Tom's d'Etat when regular jockey Joel Rosario opted to ride champion Uni in the $250,000 Just a Game (G1) at Belmont Park. "I owe everything to Al for giving me the opportunity to ride such an impressive horse. He was going along so easy and I just asked him for his attention a little bit at the top of the lane and I didn't even have to really step on the gas."
Campaigned by G M B Racing, Tom's d'Etat opened the year with a three-quarter-length score in the April 11 Oaklawn Mile Stakes at Oaklawn Park. He closed 2019 with two of his best victories, the Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland and the Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) at Churchill.
"I think the most important thing is he's had the chance to get in form by being in steady training for about 18 months and get a bunch of races strung together," Stall said. "He enjoyed his freshening at the Fair Grounds this winter, and he couldn't have done any better. Oaklawn couldn't have been any better, so I feel like we're in good shape going forward into the rest of this year. He's in pretty good shape, and this race is only the second race back.
"He's a great athlete. If he needs to be close, he breaks running, and if the pace is fast, he can back off and listen to the rider. He's a smart horse, he's an athletic horse, and he's what a grade 1 horse is supposed to be."
Bred by SF Bloodstock, Tom's d'Etat is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Julia Tuttle, who foaled a Nyquist colt in 2020. Offered to the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Tom's d'Etat was purchased by G M B Racing for $330,000 from the consignment of Hunter Valley Farm. He holds a 11-2-1 record from 18 starts with $1,627,272 in earnings.
Stall said he's hopeful that if Tom's d'Etat continues to improve, offers to stand the horse at stud will follow.
"If I have to stand him in my backyard, he will be a stallion somewhere," Stall said. "We get a few little bites here and there, but races like this and with us going forward, I imagine we will hear more. We're just going to concentrate on the horse and the year in front of us and let the G M B crew, who have been unbelievably patient and spent a lot of time and money with this horse rehabbing him, get paid off. They're good business people, and they will know what to do when the time comes."