Tonalist, V. E. Day Work at Belmont Park
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Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Tonalist and Travers Stakes (gr. I) winner V. E. Day breezed Sept. 22 over the training track at Belmont Park in preparation for the Sept. 27 Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I).
The 1 1/4-mile Gold Cup, for 3-year-olds and upward with a purse of $1 million, is one of six graded stakes on Belmont's TVG Super Saturday card featuring major prep races for the Breeders' Cup World Championships Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.
Both 3-year-old colts went out at about 9:40 a.m. (EDT) for five furlong breezes over the training track labeled "good," with Tonalist timed in 1:00.09 and V. E. Day covering the distance in 1:00.69.
V. E. Day, a son of English Channel trained by Jimmy Jerkens for Magalen O. Bryant, went alone under exercise rider Kelvin Pahal.
"It wasn't an ideal track, but it was good enough," Jerkens told the New York Racing Association communications staff. "I wanted to give him a work on the main track, but (breezing on the training track) was a no-brainer. I thought his breeze was good. I watched it from the eighth pole, but it looked like he was nice and steady the whole way."
Tonalist, ridden by jockey Joel Rosario, worked in company with stablemate Bluegrass Flash. It was the first workout over the training track for the son of Tapit who is trained by Christophe Clement for Robert S. Evans.
"We had to reschedule the work twice, unfortunately, because of the weather," said Clement. "The main track was not suitable yesterday or this morning. So we went to the training track, which was a first for him. It was a little bit difficult for me to assess the work because I've had nothing to compare it with. But, he worked fast, he worked well, he was moving well in the work, and the jockey was happy. So we're all happy."
In the Travers, V. E. Day closed from seventh to defeat stablemate Wicked Strong by a nose at the wire, with Tonalist finishing third, beaten 2 1/2 lengths. Wicked Strong breezed over the main track Saturday, Sept. 20, going six furlongs in 1:13.15.
Other Super Saturday stakes contenders on the Monday work tab included works over a yielding turf course for Abaco (Flower Bowl, gr. IT), four furlongs in :49.22; Imagining (Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, gr. IT), five furlongs in 1:02.96; and Micromanage (Joe Hirsch Turf Classic), four furlongs in :50.01.
Stopchargingmaria, expected to run in the Beldame (gr. I), breezed four furlongs on the training track in :48.24, and Scarly Charly, pointed toward the Kelso Handicap (gr. II), worked five furlongs on the training track in 1:01.17.