Tom's d'Etat Pleases Stall in Final Pre-Whitney Work

Grade 1 winner Tom's d'Etat posted a half-mile breeze July 24 at Saratoga Race Course in :48.22 in preparation for an Aug. 1 start in the $750,000 Whitney Stakes (G1).

Owned by Gayle Benson's G M B Racing, Tom's d'Etat was among the first horses to breeze on the main track at 5:45 a.m. as he recorded his final work for the Whitney, a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" event offering a berth in the Nov. 7 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.

Trainer Al Stall Jr. said the son of Smart Strike remains a consummate professional.

"It was just what we've seen in the past," Stall said. "I just put him with another horse to get his attention and put him back in the game. He went around there very, very comfortably, put up the numbers that we wanted him to, and he galloped out like we wanted him to gallop out. More importantly, it seemed like he was very good back at the barn."

Tom's d'Etat arrives at the Whitney on a four-race winning streak, all against stakes company. Following a score in the Oct. 26 Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, he struck grade 1 gold for the first time in the Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) at Churchill Downs over fellow Whitney aspirant Owendale. He then made his season debut a winning one on a wet track in the Oaklawn Mile Stakes before registering a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) back at Churchill.

"All you got to do is look at his races," Stall said of the 11-time winner from 18 starts. "He's just crushed some of his rivals over the years. He's run great times and fabulous figures and things like that. He's shown it to us, and we're just happy to be in this situation."

Tom's d'Etat boasts three victories in four starts at Saratoga, including a win in last year's Alydar Stakes and a nine-length score against allowance optional claiming company in July 2017.

Seeing a non-gelded 7-year-old horse at this caliber is quite uncommon in racing, but Stall's patience was highly rewarded. 

"We thought he was worth it all along. I don't know that any of us thought he'd be right where he is right now at age 7, but we'll take what comes our way," Stall said.

Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock, Tom's d'Etat is out of the Giant's Causeway broodmare Julia Tuttle, whose dam, Candy Cane, is a full sister to undefeated grade 1 winner and multiple champion-producing sire Candy Ride . Tom's d'Etat has accumulated $1,627,272 in earnings. He will stand at WinStar Farm upon retirement.