Tone Broke flattered in defeat ahead of Queen's Plate try

Queen's Plate contender Tone Broke is sure to attract plenty of attention on the strength of his last start, which looks better in hindsight than it did on Preakness Stakes day.

That's because Sir Barton Stakes winner King for a Day, who defeated Tone Broke by 2 1/2 lengths back on May 18, returned to take down disqualified Kentucky Derby winner Maximum Security in Monmouth Park's recent Pegasus Stakes. 

“I really think (Tone Broke) could be a top racehorse,” said Michael Levinson, who is a partner in L and N Racing LLC and the racing manager for the outfit.

Bred in Ontario by Sean Fitzhenry, Steve Asmussen-trained Tone Broke was a $40,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland. “At the time we weren’t really thinking much about the fact that he was Canadian-bred,” said Levinson.

But racing abroad in another capacity led this contender to Woodbine in a roundabout way.

The Broken Vow colt’s career began inauspiciously with fringe placings over one mile at Indiana Downs and Remington Park, both on “off” tracks. But Tone Broke, well, broke out next on the Oklahoma oval, scoring by more than more than 15 lengths over the same distance on fast going.

After following up with a sharp score under first-level allowance terms at the same distance, Tone Broke made his stakes debut in the rich Springboard Mile. “He ran a really hard-closing fourth there and then we decided to give him a shot," Levinson said, "and sent him over to Dubai.”

The United Arab Emirates Derby, a Kentucky Derby prep, became Tone Broke's ultimate target in the desert two seasons after Asmussen and L and N Racing teamed up with longshot runner-up Lookin At Lee at Churchill Downs. But Tone Broke did not make that big race after two lackluster performances over the Meydan oval at 1 3/16 miles.

“We thought he might like the added distance over there,” said Levinson. “It just didn’t work out. I think those are just toss races. So we brought him back in, gave him some time after that trip, and sent him up to that Sir Barton and he ran a really, really nice race.

"We’d been looking at the Queen’s Plate for some time. After his last start, we just decided to lay him off, and just train up to the race. He should be fresh.”

Levinson is fairly confident that the Queen’s Plate distance will be within Tone Broke’s scope. “He looks like he wants to go longer,” said the racing manager. “He’s a big horse.”

He acknowledges that the Tapeta track is another story, as the colt has never raced on and has yet to train on a synthetic strip. “That’s a little bit of a question mark for us," he said, "whether he’s going to take to that surface or not."