Tony's Rose First North American Winner for Tonalist

Lane's End's freshman sire and 2014 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tonalist  was represented by his first North American winner Aug. 2, when Tony's Rose won a five-furlong turf test for 2-year-old fillies at Belterra Park.

A homebred for Robert Evans—who also campaigned Tonalist—Tony's Rose is the second foal out of the stakes-winning City Zip mare Sweet Emma Rose, who finished second in the 2013 Queen Mary Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot for trainer Wesley Ward. Evans purchased the mare for $500,000 at the following year's Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Ward also trains Tony's Rose, who was making just her second start after finishing third in a Woodbine maiden race on the all-weather track. The filly overcame a moment in Friday's race where she clipped heels with another filly at the three-eighths pole but rebounded with a burst of speed in the stretch to win by a length. 

She completed the distance in :58.82 on firm turf after the three-wide rally.

Video: Race 2 (MSW) at BTP on 8/2/19

Tonalist has one other recent winner, a colt out of the Irish-bred Galileo mare Cloak named Svaytogor, who is racing in Russia. Svaytogor has reportedly raced three times, with a July 28 victory in a non-black-type group 1 at Rostov Hippodrome. He finished third in his second start and off the board in his debut.

Bred in Kentucky by Randal Family Trust, Svaytogor sold to Kinga Farm for $25,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, where Paramount Sales consigned him.

Aside from the Belmont Stakes, Tonalist earned a reputation for consistency as a 3-year-old with placings in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) and Travers Stakes (G1) before a win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) set him up for an effort in that year's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), where he finished fifth.

Back at 4, the son of Tapit  was in the winner's circle again in his season debut in the Westchester Stakes (G3) and then placed second or third in the NYRA.com Metropolitan Handicap (G1), the Suburban Handicap (G2), and the Whitney Stakes (G1). After winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup for a second consecutive year, he once again placed fifth in the Classic, then was retired with a final victory in the Cigar Mile Handicap (G1). 

He had a record of 7-4-2 from 16 starts and earnings of $3,647,000.

Bred in Kentucky by Woodslane Farm out of the Pleasant Colony mare Settling Mist, Tonalist descends from the immediate female family of multiple grade 1 winner Riskaverse and Horse of the Year Havre de Grace. His 2019 fee was lowered to $15,000 after standing for $20,000 last year.