Twisted Tom draws clear in final furlong for Empire Classic win

ELMONT, N.Y. - Twisted Tom was the class of the Empire Classic field on paper, and he proved to be exactly that on the racetrack Saturday. Sparring with Control Group on the lead for a mile before drawing clear in the final furlong, Twisted Tom won the $300,000 Empire Classic for New York-breds by three lengths at Belmont Park.

Control Group held second by a nose over Can You Diggit as the only 3-year-olds in the nine-horse field finished 1-2-3. Papa Shot, Governor Malibu, Testosterstone, Hit It Once More, Becker’s Galaxy, and Royal Posse, last year’s Empire Classic winner, completed the order of finish.

The Empire Classic was the richest of eight stakes races restricted to New York-breds on an 11-race card billed as New York Showcase Day. The Empire Classic was carded as race 5, presumably because the racing office felt Twisted Tom was the likeliest winner on the day at what was expected to be a short price. The Empire Classic was kept out of the pick-6, late pick-5 and late pick-4 wagers.

Twisted Tom entered the Empire Classic having won five of six starts this year, his lone loss being a sixth-place finish in the Belmont Stakes, where he was sent off at surprisingly low odds of 9-1.

Twisted Tom rebounded from that effort with wins in the New York Derby at Finger Lakes and the Albany Stakes at Saratoga, both for 3-year-old New York-breds.

Twisted Tom was meeting older horses for the first time Saturday and cutting back to a one-turn race. Neither proved problematic.

Control Group, under Irad Ortiz Jr., broke on top, but Castellano guided Twisted Tom right to his outside. Castellano left a path or so between Twisted Tom and Control Group as they dueled through fractions of 24.73 seconds for the quarter, 48.08 for the half and 1:12.37 for six furlongs.

In upper stretch, Castellano shook up Twisted Tom and began to edge clear, winning by three lengths while covering 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.38. He returned $4.10 as the even-money favorite.

“He put me in a good position right out of the gate, I dictate the pace, I dictate my position,” Castellano said. “I asked a little bit because you don’t know who’s going to close. He’s the kind of horse you have to ride a little bit, you have to keep busy on. The more you ask, the more he gives you.”

Brown said he was fine with where Castellano had Twisted Tom placed early in the race.

“This horse has a high cruising speed and they weren’t going that fast,” Brown said. “I loved Javier’s decision early to put him in the race, just get him in a nice rhythm down the backside. It looked like he had that other horse measured the whole way.”

Twisted Tom began his campaign in January with an allowance win against New York-breds. He won the Private Terms and Federico Tesio at Laurel before the Belmont Stakes. Brown said he is inclined to give Twisted Tom the remainder of the year off, but said he would talk to the ownership group that includes Cobra Farm, R R Partners, and Head of Plains Partners about the Grade 3, $200,000 Discovery, a race restricted to 3-year-olds, at Aqueduct on Nov. 25.