Tom's d'Etat Could Resume Working Next Week for Classic

Tom's d'Etat, third in the Aug. 1 Whitney Stakes (G1) after stumbling at the start, could resume breezing next week at Churchill Downs in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland Nov. 7, trainer Al Stall Jr. said.

A 7-year-old son of Smart Strike owned by Gayle Benson's G M B Racing, Tom's d'Etat is currently the third-ranked horse in the latest Breeders' Cup Classic poll, trailing only Maximum Security and Tiz the Law. He is a grade 1 winner and earner of more than $1.7 million.

"At age 7, I learned more about him than the first six years of his life," Stall said. "For a big horse, he does not need a lot of training. It's well documented how well he runs fresh."

He is 2-for-2 this year following layoffs, leading Stall to believe he will perform well in the Classic without a race in between. The horse defeated Improbable in the Oaklawn Mile Stakes after 4 1/2 months of inactivity and later took the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) after a 2 1/2-month break.

His race in the Whitney at Saratoga Race Course came after five weeks between starts, though it was the break, not the timing, that was his undoing. Momentarily unsettled in the gate as it was sprung after Improbable became fractious, he left awkwardly and spotted the field as much as four lengths. He lost by 2 1/2 lengths to Improbable, who broke alertly.

"There wasn't a nick on him, not a nick—I'm talking one scrape—which was weird. He didn't step on himself," he said. "Only thing I've done since he ran is I had an acupuncturist work" on him.

Pictures capturing the start showed his hind end dropping low to the ground.

Stall considered running Tom's d'Etat in the $200,000 Hagyard Fayette Stakes (G2) Oct. 10 at Keeneland or the $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) that same day at Belmont Park but chose to pass those races because they offered only four weeks of rest leading into the Classic. The Jockey Club Gold Cup saw its purse slashed this fall amid COVID-19 after being worth $750,000 last year.

It was in the latter race that Stall ran Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Blame  before his head victory over Zenyatta in the Classic 10 years ago. Blame finished second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup to Haynesfield.

Tom's d'Etat will join the stallion roster at WinStar Farm upon his retirement. Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock, he is out of the stakes-winning and multiple stakes-placed Giant's Causeway mare Julia Tuttle, who is out of Candy Cane, a full sister to Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) winner and sire Candy Ride . He was bought by his owner for $330,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment.