Tom's Ready comes from last to win Belmont's Bold Ruler

Late running Tom’s Ready was the beneficiary of a fast early pace Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park. With a perfectly timed ride by jockey Joel Rosario, the Dallas Stewart trainee was able to rally from last place in a field of nine talented sprinters and pass Stallwalkin’ Dude, last year’s winner of this race.

Sent off at odds of 8-1, 4-year-old Tom’s Ready found the winner’s circle for only the second time in 2017. The betting favorite Divining Rod did not break cleanly from the gate and was never a factor in the seven-furlong contest.

This running of the Bold Ruler could be used in a handicapping book to illustrate the old adage that pace makes the race. Green Gratto and Awesome Banner exploded out of the gate to leave the field behind, while they set blazing early fractions of 22.05 and 44.79. While those two were flying out front, Rosario was content to sit at the back of the pack, 11 lengths behind in the early going.

The early front runners would give up the lead in the final turn as threequarters went in 1:09.1. Stallwalkin’ Dude was the first to grab the lead as he made his patented closing move. When the field straightened out for home, Irad Oriz moved Stallwalkin’ Dude to the inside to drive to the finish line.

However, it was Tom’s Ready who was making the second and what would turn out to be the best closing move. At the stretch call, the G M B Racing-owned son of More Than Ready was in third with three lengths to still make up. Rosario had plenty of horse under him as they easily went by Stallwalkin’ Dude to win the final graded stakes race of the year at Belmont Park by ¾ of a length in a time of 1:22.06.

"The pace on the front was good and he had a nice run in the end,” explained Rosario. "I looked back for a second, it took him a little bit of time to really get there but he got the job done. We were a little wide going into the stretch, we were trying to be in the clear because when the dirt hits him a little in the face he doesn't go forward, he just stays there. I was trying to make him feel comfortable.”

Stallwalkin’ Dude was able to hold off Beasley by a nose at the wire. The speedy Seymourdini, who usually runs on the lead, was far back in the early going and was actually in ninth at the top of the stretch. At that point, he put in a very big rally to get up for fourth place.