Tom's d'Etat will have old friend Rosario back aboard for Whitney

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Owing to a prior commitment, Joel Rosario wasn’t aboard Tom’s d’Etat when he came within .02 of a second of a 21-year-old track record winning the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes on June 27 at Churchill Downs.

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Rosario will be back aboard Tom’s d’Etat in next Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Stakes, and on Friday he got reacquainted with the 7-year-old son of Smart Strike, guiding him through a four-furlong workout in 48.30 seconds. The work didn’t end there, however, as Tom’s d’Etat, who started his work one length behind the 5-year-old mare Skamania, galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.18, six furlongs in 1:14.54, and seven furlongs in 1:30.47.

“He’s just a special horse,” said Rosario, who is 5 for 5 aboard Tom’s d’Etat, beginning with a nine-length allowance win here in 2017. “He’s nice to ride; he knows his stuff. He’s special because he’s very smart, he knows what he’s doing out there. He’s there for you when you ask him. If you leave him alone, he just takes his time. He felt good.”

Friday was Tom’s d’Etat’s first work over Saratoga’s refurbished main track and just his second since his victory in the Stephen Foster.

Trainer Al Stall felt Tom’s d’Etat was getting enough out of his daily gallops over the track, and he feels the horse runs better when he’s kept fresh. Stall noted that he skipped a work prior to the Oaklawn Mile – Tom’s d’Etat’s first race in 136 days.

“Three works in between would have been a little squeeze,” Stall said. “He’s proven over time that he doesn’t seem to need that much.”

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Tom’s d’Etat is 3 for 4 over Saratoga’s main track, with a maiden victory in 2016, an allowance win in 2017, and a victory in the Alydar Stakes here in 2019. He missed the 2018 meet because he was still recovering from a condylar fracture suffered subsequent to his victory here in 2017.

His only loss at Saratoga came in last year’s Woodward, where he finished fourth, 1 3/4 lengths behind winner Preservationist. Tom’s d’Etat had what Stall described as “an awkward trip.”

He’s won all four of his starts since.

By My Standards, second to Tom’s d’Etat in the Stephen Foster, is confirmed for the Whitney with Jose Ortiz to ride. Others expected to run are Code of Honor, Improbable, Mr. Buff, and Owendale. Bodexpress and Tenfold are possible.