A pair of Grade 1-winning three-year-olds turned in separate five-furlong
breezes on the Belmont
Park training track on Monday, with Travers winner V. E. Day
covering the distance in 1:00 3/5 and Belmont Stakes victor Tonalist
being clocked in 1:00.
Both colts went out at approximately 9:40 a.m. (EDT) and are expected to
compete in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on
Saturday. The training track was labeled good.
V. E. Day, who is 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 said. “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 Tonalist,
who is trained by Christophe Clement for Robert Evans.
“We had to reschedule the work twice, unfortunately, because of the weather,”
Clement said. “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 and got up in the last stride
to defeat his stablemate, Wicked Strong, by a nose. Tonalist was third, beaten 2
1/2 lengths. On Saturday, Wicked Strong breezed six furlongs in 1:13 over the
main track.
Other Super Saturday stakes contenders on the Monday worktab were Abaco
(Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl), four furlongs on yielding turf in :49 1/5;
Imagining (Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic); five furlongs on yielding
turf in 1:02 4/5; Micromanage (Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic), four furlongs
on yielding turf in :50; Scarly Charly (Grade 2, $400,000 Kelso Handicap), five
furlongs on the training track in 1:01; and Stopchargingmaria (Grade 1, $400,000
Beldame), four furlongs on the training track in :48 1/5.
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