Tonalist (Tapit) exited his second GI Jockey Club Gold Cup victory well and will look towards the GI Breeders' Cup Classic Oct. 31. “Tonalist seems to have come back from his race in good order,” trainer Christophe Clement offered Sunday morning. “He looks okay to me. If you believe in speed figures, this horse has been running very good races all year long. He went 111 when he won the [GIII] Westchester [S. May 2], 105 in the [GI Metropolitan H. June 6], 107 in the [GII] Suburban [July 4], 110 in the [GI] Whitney [S. Aug. 8] and 111 for yesterday's performance. He's been running similar [figures] all year long, very consistent. I've never been disappointed with him.”
Clement also said that Tonalist will prepare for the Breeders' Cup from their homebase at Belmont Park and will most likely run again without blinkers, which he has shed since his runner-up effort in the Met Mile.
“He trains really well at Belmont, so I'd like to keep him here as long as I can,” Clement explained. “He's got to be there Wednesday, so we can either fly him on Monday or we can van him Tuesday. I'd have to think about it. We'll check the weather and everything and decide. If he trains as willingly as he has been, I don't think I'll make any changes [in terms of equipment]. But if I think he's being a touch lazy or needs to wake up a little bit, we might.”
Red Vine (Candy Ride {Arg}), who was second in Saturday's GII Kelso S., is a possible for the
GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, but might opt for the
GI Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Nov. 28 or Belmont's
GIII Bold Ruler S. Oct. 31.
“I think we need to keep him eligible for the Breeders' Cup Mile and we'll speak to [owner] Mr. Kelly over the next 10 days and see how he is, how he came out of the race,” said Clement. “We could train up to the Cigar Mile, train up to the Breeders' Cup Mile, or there's the Bold Ruler on the last weekend here. It's seven-eighths, but that might be a little quick, pace-wise, since he's really not a sprinter. It usually takes him about a sixteenth of a mile to get going, even yesterday, but Red Vine finished as well as anybody in the race, so we'll see.”
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