Classic Winner Tonalist Towers Over Suburban

Tonalist will find himself in easier company July 4 than he did last time out, with only five to tackle and not another grade I winner in the bunch for the $500,000 Suburban Handicap (gr. II) at Belmont Park.

The 2014 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner was nearly victorious in the June 6 NYRA.com Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I), but fell victim to a career-best performance and brilliant closing run from Honor Code and wound up second by 3 3/4 lengths. The 4-year-old Tapit   colt will look to duplicate the winning form he demonstrated one start back for trainer Christophe Clement, winning the one-mile Westchester Stakes (gr. III) by 3 3/4 lengths over three others in his season debut.

Also a winner of last year's Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I), which like the Suburban is 1 1/4 miles, Robert Evans' Tonalist gets the services of Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez for a second straight race. He'll start from the outside post as the 123-pound highweight in a field of six. All four of Tonalist's previous graded stakes wins have come at Belmont.

While none of the other Suburban horses have earned grade I status, four are graded stakes winners and one is graded stakes-placed.

Trainer Todd Pletcher sends in two runners—Repole Stable's Brooklyn Invitational Handicap (gr. II) victor Coach Inge, and GoldMark Farm and Whisper Hill Farm's Mylute—the former on a two-race win streak and the latter coming back to form in his second start for Pletcher after a lengthy rest.

Coach Inge, a 4-year-old son of Big Brown  , fought back gamely in the 1 1/2-mile Brooklyn after setting the pace. He held sway over grade I winner V.E. Day to claim his first graded score by a neck June 6. That win followed an April 22 allowance score by 12 1/2 lengths going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct Racetrack. Irad Ortiz Jr. returns in this spot to ride from post 2 as part of a 118-pound assignment.

Mylute, third in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) last year, made his first start since August 2014 and his debut for Pletcher when he won a May 29 allowance going a mile at Belmont. In his prior start, the West Virginia Governor's Stakes on Aug. 2, he finished third. He was sixth in last year's edition of the Suburban, and seeks his first graded score here under Javier Castellano from the 3 hole while carrying 115.

Grade II winner Neck 'n Neck completes the field along with grade III winners Street Babe and Effinex.