Promising three-year-old colt Tonalist, an impressive come-from-behind maiden winner at Gulfstream
Park on January 18, is gearing up for his return
to the races.
The bay son of Tapit returned to the worktab for the first
time since his victory with a five-furlong breeze in 1:04 last Sunday over the
fast dirt at Payson Park for
trainer Christophe Clement.
“It was a nice, easy maintenance work,” Clement said.
“There are two or three options over the next few weeks. It’s too early right
now to decide. I’ll work him back next weekend and then I will make my mind up
after that. There is an allowance, there are some stakes. We’ve got many, many
choices. My gut feeling is to go back in an allowance.”
Owned by Robert Evans, Tonalist rallied five wide for a
four-length victory in a nine-furlong maiden special weight event around two
turns at Gulfstream, earning a BRIS Speed rating of 93.
The effort came two months after his debut where he ran
fourth, beaten four lengths in a one-mile maiden race at Aqueduct under jockey
Joel Rosario. He was replaced by Joe Bravo at Gulfstream.
“He’s a lovely horse. He’s always been a lovely horse,”
Clement declared. “He ran a very good race as a two-year-old at Aqueduct. I was very
disappointed that the jockey didn’t stick on him at Gulfstream, but that
happens. He had certainly trained very well before his last race.
“We don’t have
many three-year-olds by Tapit in the barn; he’s the only one. You have to be
very excited.”
Best known for his success with grass horses, Clement went
down the Triple Crown trail in 2003 with Dynever, who won the Lone Star Derby
and finished fourth in the Belmont Stakes. He was also
third that year in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita and concluded his
career in 2005 with a runner-up effort in the Dubai World Cup.
“(Tonalist’s) dam (Settling Mist) is by Pleasant Colony, so he’s got
all the makings of a horse who should stay long on the dirt,” Clement said. “His
maiden was very impressive. If you believe in numbers, his numbers were very
good. The last good colt I had was Dynever, and he was good to us. Let’s hope (Tonalist)
can have a career.”
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