Twisted Tom Tries Older Horses in Empire Classic

With victories in five of his last six races, a stretch that has included four stakes wins, Twisted Tom will try older horses for the first time when he starts in the $300,000 Empire Classic Handicap for New York-breds Oct. 21 at Belmont Park.

The 1 1/8-mile Empire Classic is the featured race on a card that will offer eight stakes races for New York-breds with total purses of $1.75 million.

Twisted Tom figures to be tested by older rivals in the Empire Classic, as the expected field of nine includes last year's winner, Royal Posse, and runner-up, Governor Malibu. Unlike those two older rivals, Cobra Farm, R R Partners, and Head of Plains Partners' Twisted Tom enters Saturday's race in top form.

Trained by Chad Brown, the only loss for Twisted Tom in his six starts this season was an off-the-board finish in the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1). The son of Creative Cause  most recently drew off to a 4 1/2-length score over New York-bred 3-year-olds in the Albany Stakes Aug. 25 at Saratoga Race Course. That win followed a score in the New York Derby at Finger Lakes.

Before the Belmont, the gelding registered open stakes victories at Laurel Park in the Private Terms and Federico Tesio stakes.

While Twisted Tom will try to continue his roll, Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables, and Gary Aisquith's Royal Posse will try to turn around his recent form. The 6-year-old Posse gelding has not hit the board in his past three starts and is looking for his first win of the season. 

Jump Sucker Stable and Oak Bluff Stables' Governor Malibu is also looking for his first win of the season, but the 4-year-old Malibu Moon  colt has placed in his past two stakes for New York-breds, including a runner-up finish in the Evan Shipman Stakes Aug. 21 at Saratoga. While he was well-beaten that day, Diversify took the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) in his next outing at Belmont.

In the seven other stakes for New York-breds Saturday:

• Grade 2 winner Pure Silver will try to pick up her fourth win and third stakes victory when she starts in the Maid of the Mist Stakes for juvenile fillies at one mile. The Twin Creeks Racing Stables homebred enters off a fourth-place finish in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) after she won the Adirondack Stakes (G2) two starts back.

• In the Iroquois Stakes for filly and mare sprinters, Kennesaw Mountain Racing's Picco Uno will try for a second straight stakes victory after she took the Union Avenue at Saratoga. The 4-year-old Macho Uno  filly has won five of her last six races.

• Peter Brant's Fifty Five, a grade 3 winner, will face older females for the first time when the 3-year-old Get Stormy  filly competes with an expected eight others in the 1 1/16-mile Ticonderoga Stakes.

• Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Battle Station, undefeated in his first two starts and entered off a 9 1/4-length romp in the seven-furlong Bertram F. Bongard Stakes, will stretch out to the one-turn mile for trainer Wesley Ward in the Sleepy Hollow Stakes for juveniles.

• Male sprinters will try the Hudson Handicap, where Zilla Racing Stables' Celtic Chaos enters off a fourth-place finish in the Vosburgh Stakes (G1). Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, the 4-year-old Dublin  colt has won his last two New York-bred stakes tries.

• In the 1 1/16-mile Mohawk Stakes for 3-year-olds and older on the inner turf, Dubb, Nantucket Thoroughbred Partners, Bethlehem Stables, and Aisquith's Offering Plan will try for a second stakes victory this season after he won the restricted Kingston Stakes in May.

• Closing out the stakes races will be the $250,000 Empire Distaff Handicap, where 3-year-old filly Bonita Bianca, a daughter of Curlin , will face older horses for the first time. Campaigned by Dubb, Bethlehem Stables, and Michael Imperio and trained by Rudy Rodriguez, Bonita Bianca has won three previous stakes against New York-breds, including this year's New York Oaks.

Entries: Empire Classic H.

Belmont Park, Saturday, October 21, 2017, Race 5

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 2:34 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Papa Shot (NY)	Dylan Davis	118	Linda Rice	5/1
2	2Becker's Galaxy (NY)	Eric Cancel	114	Rudy R. Rodriguez	15/1
3	3Twisted Tom (NY)	Javier Castellano	120	Chad C. Brown	2/1
4	4Control Group (NY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	112	Rudy R. Rodriguez	6/1
5	5Hit It Once More (NY)	Kendrick Carmouche	116	Gary Sciacca	20/1
6	6Can You Diggit (NY)	Manuel Franco	114	James A. Jerkens	8/1
7	7Testosterstone (NY)	John R. Velazquez	116	Gary Sciacca	15/1
8	8Governor Malibu (NY)	Joel Rosario	122	Christophe Clement	7/2
9	9Royal Posse (NY)	Luis Saez	120	Rudy R. Rodriguez	12/1

Entries: Iroquois S.

Belmont Park, Saturday, October 21, 2017, Race 3

• STK
• 6 1/2f
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 1:28 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Picco Uno (NY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	124	Jason Servis	2/1
2	2Royal Inheritance (NY)	Manuel Franco	119	David A. Cannizzo	15/1
3	3Quezon (NY)	Joel Rosario	117	Robert Ribaudo	8/5
4	4Absatootly (NY)	Joe Bravo	121	Charlton Baker	10/1
5	5Wonderment (NY)	Javier Castellano	124	Kenneth G. McPeek	8/1
6	6Cozzy Spring (NY)	Dylan Davis	119	Charlton Baker	4/1

Entries: Sleepy Hollow S.

Belmont Park, Saturday, October 21, 2017, Race 6

• STK
• 1m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 2 yo
• 3:07 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Stoney Bennett (NY)	John R. Velazquez	120	Ollie L. Figgins, III	5/2
2	2Battle Station (NY)	Tyler Gaffalione	122	Wesley A. Ward	7/2
3	3Big Gemmy (NY)	Luis Saez	120	W. Bret Calhoun	8/1
4	4Engineers Report (NY)	Angel S. Arroyo	120	Rudy R. Rodriguez	20/1
5	5Mr. Pete (NY)	Jose Lezcano	122	James T. Ryerson	12/1
6	6Bourbonfuhrme (NY)	Shannon Uske	120	Archibald J. Kingsley, Jr.	30/1
7	7Inalienable Rights (NY)	Junior Alvarado	120	Mark A. Hennig	6/1
8	8We Should Talk (NY)	Joel Rosario	120	Horacio DePaz	5/1
9	9Lover's Leap (NY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Sal Iorio, Jr.	15/1
10	10Analyze the Odds (NY)	Javier Castellano	122	Todd A. Pletcher	10/1
11	11Evaluator (NY)	Manuel Franco	120	Michael Dilger	15/1

Entries: Mohawk S.

Belmont Park, Saturday, October 21, 2017, Race 9

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Inner turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:46 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Cloontia (NY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	119	James A. Jerkens	6/1
2	2Nevisian Sky (NY)	Joel Rosario	117	Chad C. Brown	8/1
3	3All Is Number (NY)	Joe Bravo	117	Thomas M. Bush	12/1
4	4Rapt (NY)	Manuel Franco	117	Robert Ribaudo	15/1
5	5Offering Plan (NY)	Javier Castellano	123	Chad C. Brown	6/5
6	6Converge (NY)	Dylan Davis	117	Naipaul Chatterpaul	20/1
7	7Black Tide (NY)	Jose Lezcano	119	David A. Cannizzo	2/1