Suburban distance right up Tonalist’s alley
Tonalist will be a heavy favorite when he stretches back out to 1 1/4 miles in the Grade 2, $500,000 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park on Saturday.
Tonalist has made his last two starts going a mile. He ran a strong race to be second in the Met Mile despite getting away from the gate a bit slowly and racing wide into the stretch. Even with a clean trip, though, it is unlikely anyone was going to beat Honor Code that day.
“He’s never missed a beat from then to right now,” said trainer Christophe Clement. “Running him once a month is perfectly okay. I like the rhythm of running him once every four weeks.”
Two starts back, in his 4-year-old debut, Tonalist rallied from last in a four-horse Westchester Stakes field to win in 1:34.07 with something left in the tank.
“We proved he has the speed to go a mile,” Clement said. “In fact, he almost showed more speed than expected. He’s a very good horse who can be effective from a mile to a mile and a half.”
In his lone start at 1 1/2 miles, Tonalist won the Belmont Stakes.
Clement, as he has done three times before with Tonalist, will make a blinkers change for the Suburban. Tonalist has made both of his starts this year with blinkers, but they will be coming off Saturday.
“We took the blinkers off so he’s not going to be too sharp,” Clement said. “I don’t think he needs blinkers if he goes a mile and a quarter.”
If Tonalist is smart, Clement is smarter. Tonalist has won every time Clement has made a blinkers change.
Tonalist won his maiden going 1 1/8 miles when Clement added blinkers in January 2014 at Gulfstream Park. He won the 1 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup when Clement took them off last September. He won the Westshester with them on.
Tonalist ended his 3-year-old season last year with three straight 1 1/4-mile races. He was third in the Travers, won the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and was fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
Key contenders
Tonalist (Last 3 Beyers: 105-111-105)
◗ Tonalist has been assigned 123 pounds for the Suburban and will concede five to nine pounds to his five opponents. He will break from the outside post under John Velazquez.
◗ He has a 5-4-1-0 record at Belmont Park.
Coach Inge (Last 3 Beyers: 102-104-78)
◗ He has steadily improved for Todd Pletcher since last fall and is the second highweight at 118.
◗ He was a determined winner of the 1 1/2-mile Brooklyn on Belmont Stakes Day after vying on the early lead with one rival and then proving best by a neck after a stretch battle with Travers winner V. E. Day.
Effinex (Last 3 Beyers: 107-100-88)
◗ Started the year with two sharp wins, including the 1 1/4-mile, Grade 3 Excelsior at Aqueduct, but was pulled up in the Brooklyn after lugging out badly.
“To see him to do that was unsettling,” said trainer Jimmy Jerkens. “I don’t know if it was a bridle issue; it looked like [jockey Angel Arroyo] was fighting him from the start. On occasion, he tries to get out in the mornings.”
◗ Jerkens noted that Effinex’s teeth were sharp and that he has filed them down for this race. He also said he is changing bits. Junior Alvarado replaces Arroyo.
“His teeth were a little sharp,” Jerkens said. “Sometimes the bit hits them the wrong way. Junior’s got nice, easy hands. I think he’ll get along with him good.”
Mylute (Last 3 Beyers: 103-93-90)
◗ Now 5, he was trained by Tom Amoss last year but has been transferred to Todd Pletcher. He won his only start for Pletcher in a third-level optional-claiming race going a mile at Belmont Park on May 29. The 103 Beyer Speed Figure he earned equaled his career best.
– additional reporting by David Grening