‘Turf trainer' Clement aims for second Belmont Stakes win

ELMONT, N.Y. – Winning the Belmont Stakes two years ago with Tonalist was a lifetime achievement for trainer Christophe Clement, but it did not prove to be a life-changing experience.

While Clement, a native of France who has trained in the U.S. for 25 years, takes great pride in winning an American dirt classic, it did not alter the composition of his stable, one that is made up primarily of high-quality turf horses.

“I don’t get the million-dollar yearlings in September. They don’t come my way,” Clement said. “But I’m not complaining. I train for owners/breeders, and I got some wonderful partnerships. Life is good. Every day of my life I consider myself a very lucky guy.”

Two years removed from Tonalist’s victory in the Belmont, Clement is back with Governor Malibu, a New York-bred son of Malibu Moon who was one of 13 horses entered Wednesday for Saturday’s 148th Belmont Stakes.

“The Belmont Stakes means a lot to me because I’m stabled in New York, and it’s a big deal,” Clement said.

Clement, 50, is happy to be back in a classic dirt race. He no longer harbors any resentment about not getting an opportunity to work with more high-caliber dirt horses. He has enjoyed tremendous success as a trainer as his stable’s purse earnings of $108,726,433 through Wednesday rank him 13th all time.

“When I started training, I was labeled as a turf fillies trainer, and that used to bother me because I thought I could train more than just turf fillies,” Clement said. “As I’m getting older, I don’t care anymore. As long as I’m labeled something and the horses are coming my way, I’m very happy.”

The bulk of Clement’s success has come with turf runners, highlighted by multiple Eclipse Award champion Gio Ponti. But Tonalist, a four-time Grade 1 winner on dirt, may be the best horse Clement has trained.

In addition to winning the Belmont, Tonalist won two runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup and completed his career last November with a victory in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. Tonalist, who earned $3.647 million, stands stud at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky.

“Tonalist was a lot of fun. He was a very good horse who sometimes lacked a bit of racing luck,” Clement said. “I thought he could have won another one or two more Grade 1’s. If you believe in numbers, he was a superior horse, very consistent.”

Clement acknowledges that Governor Malibu “is not the same horse” as Tonalist, but he has followed Governor Malibu since he was a yearling.

Dick Leahy, a longtime client of Clement’s, bred Governor Malibu and sold him for $175,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September yearling auction. Feeling some buyer’s remorse, Leahy bought the horse back for $135,000 at the Fasig-Tipton sale of 2-year-olds in training in March 2015. Leahy solicited Clement’s help in getting some partners. Steve Duncker, a New York Racing Association board member who races under the moniker Jump Sucker Stables, took a majority interest.

Leahy, with Clement, raced Governor Malibu’s dam, Akilina, a two-time stakes winner on turf who earned $316,460.

“I expected her to do better, but she got sick at the end of her 3-year-old year,” Leahy said. “She always tried in every race, a very honest horse. He has that same quality. He’s in terrific hands with Christophe, who is a phenomenal trainer. The question is how good is he and can he go a mile and a half?”

Governor Malibu didn’t win his maiden until his fourth start, a one-turn-mile race at Aqueduct in mid-November that he won by six lengths. Governor Malibu shipped to Florida for the winter and wasn’t training satisfactorily until Clement put blinkers on him. Clement shipped Governor Malibu to New York, where in February he won the Gander Stakes for New York-breds by 2 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct.

Clement wasn’t ready to throw him to the wolves just yet, so he ran Governor Malibu in the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel, a race that awarded a fees-paid berth in the Preakness to the winner. Though Governor Malibu finished first, he was disqualified for interference and placed second behind Awesome Speed.

Governor Malibu then stepped into graded-stakes company in the Peter Pan and finished second, three-quarters of a length behind the unbeaten Unified and 2 1/2 lengths ahead of the rest of the field.

Clement believes Governor Malibu’s best attributes for the Belmont are his consistency and Clement’s faith that he will like the longer distances.

“He’s not as proven [as Tonalist] so far, but he’s improving,” Clement said. “Did he reach a plateau now, or will he keep improving? I don’t know. The only way to find out is to go.”