Tonalist works aggressively for Jim Dandy

ELMONT, N.Y. - He began the day at the scene of his greatest triumph. Well before sundown, the Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist was expected to arrive at the place where he hopes to accomplish more great things.

In his most serious bit of training since his upset victory in the Belmont on June 7, Tonalist worked a solid five furlongs in 1:01.54 Sunday morning over Belmont Park’s main track. A few hours later, Tonalist boarded a van headed for Saratoga, where he will make his next start in the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy on July 26 and then, if all goes well, the $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 23.

On a cloudy, slightly humid Sunday morning, Tonalist came on the track just before 6:45 and breezed in company with his usual companion, fellow 3-year-old Life in Shambles.

Tonalist, equipped with blinkers, began the breeze slightly more than two lengths ahead of Life in Shambles. After getting a pretty good run-up leaving the five-furlong pole, the work officially began at the half-mile pole. Tonalist went his first quarter in 24.45 seconds. Life in Shambles gradually came to Tonalist and inside the eighth pole the two were basically on even terms. Exercise rider Lee Vickers began to shake Tonalist up and the two hit the 1 3/8-mile pole together. Tonalist continued to gallop out, completing six furlongs in 1:15.26.

“Every week we’ve done a bit more since we came back,” trainer Christophe Clement said. “Today is probably his most aggressive work for the Jim Dandy.”

Clement said Life in Shambles, who is pointing to the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga on July 25, “seems to go better from the quarter pole to the wire. Tonalist seems to go better during the galloping out part of it. One of them has more speed than the other one. Nothing has changed. We’re back to where we were for the last four months. Nice work; came back [and] he had a fair blow afterwards. We’ll work him five-eighths galloping out three-quarters in Saratoga next week. The question will be do we do that on the main track or the training track and I got one week to think about it. I’m happy with him.”

As he has done since April, Tonalist trained in bar shoes on both front feet. Clement said that Tonalist’s feet have “not been a concern since the Belmont. We’re just trying to be ahead of the game. We’re trying to prevent more than fix.”

Clement said that physically, Tonalist hasn’t changed much though “he is carrying more weight than he’s ever done and I think that’s a good problem.”

Tonalist was to ship to Saratoga along with Discreet Marq, who worked four furlongs in 49.60 seconds on the dirt Sunday morning in preparation for Saturday’s Grade 1 Diana on turf.

Other Diana prospects who worked on Sunday were Stephanie’s Kitten, who went five furlongs in 1:02.21 over the Belmont turf course in company with Manhattan winner Real Solution. It was the second straight solid work for Stephanie’s Kitten, who was beaten a half-length in last year’s Diana. Caroline Thomas worked five furlongs in 1:02 over turf in preparation for the Diana.

Samraat works a mile

At Aqueduct, Gotham Stakes winner Samraat worked a mile in 1:43.01 as he prepares for his next start, which could come in the Jim Dandy or the $1 million Haskell on July 27.

Trainer Rick Violette said he caught Samraat’s last quarter in under 24 seconds “without being run off his feet. I don’t know how you could get much better without trying to break stopwatches.”

Violette said Samraat was due to ship Monday to Saratoga, which presumably makes him likely to run in the Jim Dandy. But Violette said, “We’ll look at both races and see where he should run.”