Twisted Tom breezes for G1 Belmont Stakes

by NYRA Press Office

Cobra Farm’s Federico Tesio winner Twisted Tom will run in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, said trainer Chad Brown, following his five-furlong breeze Sunday morning at Belmont Park.

Twisted Tom, under exercise rider Peter Roman, worked five furlongs on the main track in company with the 4-year-old Economic Model, winner of the 2016 Easy Goer. The pair went together in 1:01.16, with the last quarter going in 23 3/5 seconds, and galloped out in 1:13 4/5, according to NYRA clockers.

“He [Twisted Tom] worked great,” said Brown. “This horse has continued to improve all year, and more of the same today. It was a nice, strong work from him. [The Belmont is a] huge class test for this horse, but I love the way he’s developed. I do think he can stay a mile and a half, I think the longer the better for him, so I’m anxious to get him out to that distance, but it’ll be a tough field, a large field.”

A New York-bred gelding by Creative Cause, Twisted Tom faced statebreds in his first four starts, graduating into open company in the March 18 Private Terms at Laurel Park, beating O Dionysus by a nose. He returned April 22 in the 1 1/8-mile Tesio on a sloppy and sealed track, this time posting a 2 ¼-length victory over O Dionysus.

“He appreciated the time after the win in the Tesio and has had a nice string of works since then, so the horse seems to be sitting on a new top again,” Brown said.

Not already nominated to the Triple Crown series, Twisted Tom will require a $75,000 supplemental fee to run in the June 10 Belmont, and will vie to become the third gelding in history to win the Belmont, and the first since Ruler On Ice in 2011 (Crème Fraiche was the first in 1985). Brown added that Cloud Computing, winner of the Preakness Stakes, will not run in the Belmont.

Other confirmed Belmont runners (as of Sunday afternoon) are: Classic Empire (Mark Casse), Epicharis (Kiyoshi Hagiwara), J Boys Echo (Dale Romans), Lookin At Lee (Steve Asmussen), Senior Investment (Kenny McPeek), Tapwrit (Todd Pletcher), and True Timber (Kiaran McLaughlin). Irap (Doug O'Neill), Meantime (Brian Lynch) and Multiplier (Brendan Walsh) are considered likely for the race.

Conquest Mo Money (Miguel Hernandez), Gormley (John Shirreffs), Hollywood Handsome (Dallas Stewart), Irish War Cry (Graham Motion), and Patch (Pletcher) are also possible.

The field for the Belmont Stakes is limited to 16 starters. The largest field to date was 15 runners in the 1983 Belmont, won by Caveat.