Tom's d'Etat trying for final victory in Breeders' Cup Classic
When Tom’s d’Etat takes to the starting gate at Keeneland on Thursday for what is likely to be the final race of his career, he’ll have at least one fan in attendance besides his own connections.
“I like Tom’s d’Etat,” Dale Romans, who does not have a horse in the race, said. “Let the old man win. I just heard he’d be the oldest horse to ever win the Classic if he did it, and I’ve been a fan and Al’s a friend, and I’d love to see him win the big one again.”
The seven-year-old son of Smart Strike out of Julia Tuttle, by Giant’s Causeway, has racked up six stakes victories throughout his career, and will be looking for his seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. To do so, he’ll have to beat several of the world’s top horses in what is an extremely deep field.
Tom’s d’Etat’s trainer, Al Stall Jr., said Thursday that he loves the fifth post position drawn by the horse, and also offered commentary on the rest of the 10-horse Classic field.
“Very interesting, three [Bob] Baffert horses all drew outside, three in a row,” Stall said. “I’m glad we’re kind of far away from Improbable for obvious reasons and I just want to break cleanly.”
The break was an issue in Tom’s d’Etat’s trip in the Aug. 1 Whitney at Saratoga, where he stumbled out of the gate and was beaten by Improbable, who had caused a commotion in the gate, which Stall said distracted his horse.
Stall said his horse is normally very good out of the gate and he had been working with him since the Whitney to make sure the bad break was a one-time occurrence.
“He’s been to the gate a couple times, just to stand,” Stall said. “No breaking, nothing. He goes in there, walks in, stands there, doesn’t move a muscle, puts his head right in the V. Back him out, he goes home.”
Stall was complimentary towards Baffert’s other horses, including Authentic, who won this year’s Kentucky Derby, and Maximum Security.
“There will be some outside speed,” Stall said. “On the inside you got Tiz the Law and By My Standards, to the inside of us I should say, so that’s two and two, or even more that do that.”
The horse will be ridden by Joel Rosario in the Classic.
With it being Tom’s d’Etat’s last race, Stall said he is fully at peace with the retirement of one of his longest-running horses before he heads off to stand at WinStar Farm.
“I’m excited,” Stall said. “At age seven, it is enough. And I’m really excited that he has an excellent place to go at WinStar. There won’t be any heads down.”
The Breeders’ Cup Classic is scheduled for Saturday at Keeneland. The race is set to go to post at 5:13 p.m.