The field for Sunday’s 35th running of the Tom Fool H. (G2) was reduced to
four Sunday morning with the scratch of morning-line favorite and highweight,
FABULOUS STRIKE (Smart Strike).
“He’s doing great,” trainer Todd Beattie said. “(But) we weighed out the
positives and negatives. I have a lot of respect for MUNNINGS (Speightstown) and
we were giving him 11 pounds today. With the difference in weight, drawing the
one hole and going seven furlongs, we just felt there wasn’t a lot working in
his favor. He ran a monstrous effort four weeks ago. I had a long discussion
with (owner) Mr. (Walter) Downey and he felt the same.”
The six-year-old Fabulous Strike will be pointed toward the six-furlong,
$250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) at Saratoga on August 9. In winning the
six-furlong True North H. (G2) at Belmont Park last month in 1:07.85, Fabulous
Strike equaled the stakes record set by Groovy in 1987.
“The Vanderbilt going three-quarters is a much better distance for him,”
Beattie added. “Some extra time will be good for him.”
With four betting interests, there will be no show or trifecta wagering in
the Tom Fool. Multi-race wagering is not affected.