Summer Revolution, Tom's Ready point to Cigar Mile

ELMONT, N.Y. – Summer Revolution began his comeback with a nifty optional-claiming win at Belmont Park last week. The career of Tom’s Ready is winding down, but he added another graded stakes win to his record Saturday in the Bold Ruler. Both horses are being considered for the Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct on Dec. 2.

Summer Revolution, beautifully prepared by Rudy Rodriguez for his first start in 10 months, returned in sharp form for his 4-year-old debut last Thursday. He blew to the lead in upper stretch of the six-furlong sprint and then comfortably held a two-length advantage to the wire.

He was given a 91 Beyer Speed Figure for his win in the second-level optional claimer and can be expected to build on the performance going forward.

“He ran the way we expected,” Rodriguez sad. “I thought it was a good race. I have to thank the owner for being patient and letting us take our time with him.”

Summer Revolution turned heads last summer when he began his career with a pair of impressive seven-furlong scores. He won his debut at Belmont by 7 1/4 lengths, then came back to beat Neolithic by three lengths. He earned a 105 Beyer in that race.

The efforts encouraged Rodriguez to jump him up in class, and Summer Revolution finished fourth in the King’s Bishop at Saratoga before stretching out in distance in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby. He finished ninth in the 1 1/8-mile Pennsylvania Derby, then shortened up in distance for his final two starts at 3. Following a sixth-place finish in the Gravesend at Aqueduct, Rodriguez pulled the plug on Summer Revolution and sent him to Niall Brennan’s stable in Ocala, Fla., for a rest.

“We tried different things with him, different distances, different tracks, and he got a little sour on us at the end of last year,” Rodriguez said. “We gave him a lot of time.”

Summer Revolution worked once at Brennan’s facility in April and then again in late June and early July before rejoining Rodriguez’s barn. He has worked 12 times since at Belmont and Saratoga.

Owned by Jeff Drown, Summer Revolution looked like his old self in winning last week.

“I’ve talked with the owner that the Cigar Mile might be the right race for him now, and that’s what we are thinking,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve always had a lot of confidence in this horse, and I still do.”

Tom’s Ready will race in the Cigar Mile for trainer Dallas Stewart and then head off to stud at Spendthrift Farm. He took advantage of a fast early pace in the seven-furlong Bold Ruler and finished strongly to run down Stallwalkin’ Dude by three-quarters of a length. He was given a 106 Beyer, the best figure in his 20-race career.

Tom’s Ready, a 4-year-old son of More Than Ready, has now won three graded stakes. He won the Grade 2 Woody Stephens at Belmont and the Grade 3 Ack Ack at Churchill Downs at 3.

His connections would love to get him a Grade 1 win before he retires, and the Grade 3 Bold Ruler was a step in the right direction. It also pushed him over $1 million in earnings.

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