Catholic Boy getting time off until February

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Catholic Boy may be temporarily out of sight, but he’s obviously not out of mind after the versatile two-time Grade 1 winner was named last Saturday as one of three finalists for an Eclipse Award in the 3-year-old division for 2018.

Catholic Boy, who won both the Belmont Derby on turf and the Travers on dirt at 3, was given some well-deserved time off at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., following his 13th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“The turf race on Pegasus Day was very alluring, but it wouldn’t have allowed us to give him a good break like we really wanted,” trainer Jonathan Thomas said. “He’ll be off until Feb. 1 before going back into training. We had him checked out at Ocala Equine 45 days ago and he checked out perfectly all around. I was amazed at how well this horse was physically and how he handled his 3-year-old campaign.”

Thomas has no firm plan in mind for Catholic Boy this coming season.

“In a perfect world, I guess everybody would be on board if we could take down both the Manhattan and Whitney,” said Thomas, who trains Catholic Boy for Robert LaPenta and the Madaket Stables. “From a timing perspective, targeting the Manhattan on Belmont weekend might make sense with a nice confidence builder on turf somewhere before that. But that could all change once he goes back into training.”

Thomas said he was touched when he learned Catholic Boy had been selected as a finalist for an Eclipse Award, but quickly noted he had no chance of beating Justify for the honor.

“It’s just cool to see him mentioned for the award and gratifying to get a horse recognized as a standout in the category,” Thomas said. “It’s a big achievement for our entire team and I’m very proud of it.”