Tonito M. exits Oklahoma Derby win in good shape

OKLAHOMA CITY – Tonito M. was bright and alert Monday at Remington Park, where he was taking in the sunshine a day after capturing the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby. He was scheduled to return to his California base Tuesday, and from there, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer will determine what direction to take with the horse, said owner Mickey Gonzalez.

Tonito M. capped a big weekend for 3-year-olds in the Hollendorfer barn, with Shared Belief defeating older horses in the Grade 1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita on Saturday in his final steppingstone to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Tonito M. rallied from off the pace to win the Oklahoma Derby by 2 3/4 lengths over Bay of Biscay. He earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 96.

A Group 1 winner in Puerto Rico, Tonito M. is nominated to the Breeders’ Cup.

“I’d love to run in the Breeders’ Cup, but I’m not sure we’re going to go,” Gonzalez said. “I’m going to follow whatever Jerry decides.”

Gonzalez said he was pleased with the come-from-behind tactics Rafael Bejarano employed on Tonito M. in the Oklahoma Derby, and that the 1 1/8-mile distance suited the horse.

“He’s a real distance horse,” he said. “The longer he runs, the better for him.”

Tonito M. came into the Oklahoma Derby off a third-place finish against older rivals in the $200,000 Los Alamitos Mile. Earlier this year, he was third to Shared Belief in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby. Tonito M. began his career in Puerto Rico, where he won multiple graded stakes.

Wildcat Red finished third as the favorite in the Oklahoma Derby. Trainer Jose Garoffalo said plans are to freshen the Gulfstream Park-based horse, with a long-range goal being the Sunshine Millions Classic in January.

“He came back in very good shape,” Garoffalo said.

Wildcat Red has traveled a good deal this season, and Garoffalo said the timing is right to give him a break. He said he would remain in light training during the freshening and likely will resume racing in December at Gulfstream.

Bay of Biscay for a brief moment in the stretch looked like he might be home free in the Oklahoma Derby. It was a big race for Bay of Biscay, who was wheeling back off a 10th-place finish in a Sept. 13 turf stakes at Canterbury.

“We wanted to try the grass,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said of the Canterbury start, adding that it was a last-minute decision to run in that race.

Diodoro said Bay of Biscay would have about 45 days off at Turf Paradise and Santa Anita.

Diodoro also ran Grade 3 Canadian Derby winner Edison in the Oklahoma Derby. Edison finished 12th and will have at least 45 days off at Turf Paradise, Diodoro said.

Diodoro won last year’s Oklahoma Derby with Broadway Empire.