Tu Brutus training well entering Brooklyn Invitational
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Photo:
Brittlan Wall
Tu Brutus has been training well entering the Grade 2, $400,000 Brooklyn Invitational on Belmont Stakes Day on June 10, trainer Gary Contessa said Sunday morning.
The Chilean-bred 5-year-old won his first North American stakes race with an 11-length score in the Flat Out on May 7 at Belmont Park. He earned a 109 Beyer Speed Figure for that effort, building on a 118 Figure in a second-place finish to Send It In in the Grade 3 Excelsior in his U.S. debut on April 8 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The Brooklyn, run at 1 ½ miles, will mark just the second time Tu Brutus has run at the distance. His only other experience came in a third-place finish in the 2016 Group 1 El Derby at Valparaiso in his native country.
"He's amazing in that he bounces back so quickly," Contessa said. "He's been training well. I don't know if a race like this sets up for anyone going a mile and a half. He's going to be in front. The question is, 'does anybody go with him?' To set up well, I'd like it for him to be in front by himself. He's been a headstrong horse early on in his races and he hasn't been quitting. He keeps going."
Tu Brutus worked five furlongs in 1:01.64 on the Belmont training track on Wednesday. Contessa said Tu Brutus will breeze one final time on Tuesday, which could be pushed to Wednesday, depending on weather conditions. The 5-year-old son of Scat Daddy has a career record of 9-3-3 in 19 starts, including 8-2-3 in 17 starts in Chile before Contessa took over training duties and brought him north.
"It's just maintenance stuff because he doesn't need a whole lot," he said. "He puts a lot into his training."
Contessa said Tu Brutus could be a possibility for the Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney on August 5 at Saratoga Race Course if he comes out of the Brooklyn well. That prestigious race, run at 1 1/8 miles, would represent a turnback, which his trainer said could be in his favor.
"Watching his replays of his races in Chile, his mile and an eighth races, he's even more powerful because he doesn't make the lead, sits back third or fourth, and just explodes when the rider lets him go," Contessa said. "He has the constitution to run all day. But I believe he can get a mile and an eighth and I'm not worried about it."
Source: NYRA Communications
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