Getting to Know Tonalist

Tonalist earning a spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic with his second consecutive Jockey Club Gold Cup win. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
A consistent force all year, Tonalist had hit the board three times in Grade 1 and 2 events since his last victory when he entered this year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup. But Tonalist shook those so-close finishes off on Oct. 3 to easily win his second edition of the race and a Breeders’ Cup Challenge "Win and You’re In" spot for the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
One of three classic race winners entered in this year’s edition of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Tonalist is the latest horse we’ll get to know in this series.
Race Résumé
Since Tonalist has been around for a while, I’m going to direct you to this Getting to Know piece I wrote about him last year for his pre-2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic resume. Disclaimer: the colt finished fifth in the Classic and has changed up his running style a little since that piece was written so it’s probably best you ignore my analysis in that piece.
Tonalist had an extended break after the Breeders’ Cup Classic, coming back in the Westchester against a frankly overclassed field. Closing from last place after a slow start, Tonalist had an easy win in his return to romp home by 3 ¾ lengths as the 9-to-10 favorite.
It was on to the Metropolitan Handicap from there, and Tonalist again closed from near the back of the field. However, Tonalist was outfinished by Honor Code, who he’ll be facing in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and finished second by 3 ¾ lengths. Effinex, another Classic contender, was the next horse to draw Tonalist’s number.
With two horses battling it out on the lead in the Suburban Handicap, Tonalist was as far back as 11 ½ lengths at the first call. But Tonalist and Effinex hooked up on the backstretch and steadily moved through the field together in an extended battle that had a small break as Tonalist went closer to the lead in the turn before Effinex again joined him near the top of the stretch. Effinex looked like he didn’t have to worry about Tonalist in midstretch after having nearly a length on him but that wasn’t the case with Tonalist coming back to lose by only a short head.
The Whitney was another close loss for Tonalist with Liam’s Map setting a hot pace up front while Tonalist, V. E. Day and Honor Code had a private race nearly 20 lengths behind the leader. Somehow, Honor Code and Tonalist were able to make up those lengths with Honor Code winning by a neck and Tonalist finishing third, only 1 ½ lengths behind second-place finisher Liam’s Map.
That third-place finish was only one point less than the 124 Equibase Speed Figure Tonalist earned for the Westchester victory.
While Tonalist didn’t take on the level of competition he’d seen in some of his other races this year in the the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the race did have multiple Breeders’ Cup-bound horses in it. Tonalist was closer to the pace in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, in about fourth of six horses through most of the race. His regular jockey this year, John Velazquez, barely had to move after letting Tonalist loose in the stretch to win by 4 ¾ lengths.
2015 JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP

Video courtesy of Breeders’ Cup World Championships
The race should play out to be good final prep for Tonalist in more ways than one. It gave him a chance to have an easy race after some tough losses this summer, which should also help his confidence. It came at his favorite track (he is 5-for-7 at Belmont) and allowed him to walk from the barn to the race with no shipping involved.
It’s a common thought that Tonalist is one of those Belmont-only racehorses, but I’m not sold on that idea. Tonalist has shown that he likes the track, but he also has a win at Gulfstream Park and has only been off the board twice in his career. I can forgive him both of those races as one was a packed Breeders’ Cup Classic in which he had a good group of horses at their peak finish ahead of him in California and the other was his debut. Obviously, he likes Belmont but I’m not willing to fall into believing it is the only track where he can win.
This year, Tonalist has dramatically altered his running style by becoming a closer. We did see him use the style last year in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Classic so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see him use it this year. However, it was nice to see him be able to race closer to the lead in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and still be able to win, even if he outclassed the field.
His versatility will definitely be helpful in the Breeders’ Cup Classic where it looks like there won’t be a crazy fast pace for closers to take advantage of with Liam’s Map going to the Dirt Mile. There will be front runners in the race but all those horses don’t seem like they’ll run Liam’s Map’s fractions, so that may hurt the horses like Honor Code who are pretty pace-dependent closers.
Pedigree
It’s another year, but Tonalist’s sire Tapit is still No. 1. He has 15 graded stakes winners and five Grade 1 winners this year to be the leading sire in North America.
Last year, Tapit broke the single season progeny earnings for a North American sire with $16,813,536 but if possible he is even stronger this year. Tapit has two more Grade 1 winners, three more graded stakes winners, and four more stakes winners than he had at the end of last year and $15.54-million in earnings with nearly three months left in the season.
Tonalist will be meeting at least one other Tapit son in the Breeders’ Cup Classic this year with Belmont Stakes runner-up Frosted taking another shot at American Pharaoh in the race. Among the other Tapit sons and daughters that will be lining up for Breeders’ Cup races will also be last year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner and champion Untapable. Overall, Tonalist will be far from the only one looking to give his sire his sixth Breeders’ Cup victory.
UNTAPABLE

But Tapit isn’t the only thing made of gold in Tonalist’s family.
While Tonalist’s dam Settling Mist wasn’t a stakes winner and only Tonalist has made it to that level for her, she is a daughter of the influential broodmare Toll Fee. On the track, Toll Fee was graded stakes placed in both sprints and routes and after a few years at stud, it didn’t look like Toll Fee was going to be that much off a broodmare with just The Bink even hitting the board in a stakes race.
But her daughters have made up for that by being star producers. Toll Fee is the grand dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Riskaverse (who is the dam of a group stakes winner herself) and Grade 3 winner Tasteyville but her biggest success is 2011 Horse of the Year winner Havre de Grace, who beat boys in that year’s Woodward Stakes.
An even better broodmare than Toll Fee is her dam Toll Booth, who didn’t run very well on the track. But Toll Booth, who was named Broodmare of the Year in 1991, has proved that you don’t have to be an accomplished racehorse to be an excellent broodmare.
Toll Booth is the dam of champion sprinter Plugged Nickle and Grade 1 winner Christiecat in addition to a slew of really strong broodmares. While going through all the graded stakes winners in her family would be really fun, I’ll spare you that 2,500 word essay and give you the numbers. Toll Booth is responsible for 33 stakes winners and 17 graded stakes winners in just her immediate family. That is a crazy good matriarch.
Overall, looking at Tonalist’s chances in the Classic I can see how people would have some doubts about him. That New York stereotype will hurt him, especially with the group he’ll be going against in the Classic.
But while some will be scared away by those doubts, I’m looking forward to the chance of getting him at decent odds for the race as the Classic will be the first time he won’t go off favored this year.