Tonalist won the 2014 Belmont Stakes. I just have to put that down in black and white as there has been so much attention on the Belmont side shows this weekend, that we’re rather in danger of forgetting the fact.
I have a fair bit to say about the Belmont, but first I want to give the winner some love and acknowledgement, because Tonalist comes with an interesting story which is fun and full of near misses. Bred by relative new-comers to the racing scene Rene and Lauren Woolcott of Woodslane Farm in Virginia, Tonalist almost didn’t happen. The Woolcotts tried to sell his dam, Settling Mist, but couldn’t get her onto the Speightstown’s book, so they sent her to Tapit and then offered her for sale in foal at another sale. Despite the fact that Tapit’s cover fee had soared, the mare raised little interest, so the Woolcotts took her home again and she duly produced the colt who would be christened Tonalist.
When his turn came, Tonalist was prepped for the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga August yearling sale by Wayne Sweezey. But no-one wanted him either. “Somewhere around March or April of that year, he went through one of those growth spurts and kind of got a little awkward,” explains Sweezey. “We had him up there at Saratoga and we ended up buying him back, but Shel Evans had a few horses in our consignment and we ended up getting him sold.”
History hates loose ends
The person they ‘ended up getting him sold’ to was Robert “Shel” Evans, who commented “I loved his walk at the sale. He was a big, growthy colt. He’s 17 hands. A lot of people like speed and he didn’t look like a ton of speed, being out of a Pleasant Colony mare.” Incidentally, Pleasant Colony won the 1981 Derby and Preakness for Evans’ father, Thomas Mellon Evans, but fell short in the Belmont. It seems the big colt reminded him of Pleasant Colony. “Whenever we would put Tonalist back in his stall, he’d take a few nips of hay and then lay down and sleep,” Sweezey explained. “Pleasant Colony did exactly the same thing, and I think that since Shel was around the barn so much and saw that, it may have contributed to his buying the horse.”
Conditioned by French native Christophe Clement, Tonalist entered the Belmont Stakes with only four starts under his belt. He had finished fourth on debut on 16 November 2013 at Aqueduct and then won his maiden at the second time of asking by 4 lengths in a gusty display of running at Gulfstream on 18 January 2014. He finished second to subsequent Florida Derby winner Constitution in an allowance race on 22 February, but his biggest victory came in the Gr2 Peter Pan Stakes on 10 May, which he won at the Belmont track, drawing off to win by an impressive four lengths under the guidance of Joel Rosario.
In the build up to the last leg of the Triple Crown, Tonalist was shaping up into the Belmont ‘buzz horse’, so “Shel” Evans laughed when they drew the extreme outside 11 post for the Belmont run. “I had said to (trainer) Christophe (Clement) when he started training for me he had to deal with my luck,” he said. “Before the draw I told him, ‘You know, we’re going to get 11’.” Referring to Pleasant Colony’s failed 1981 Triple Crown run he commented “It was very quiet here when he lost. Hopefully we can make up for that. I’m all for a Triple Crown winner and I love California Chrome, but we like our horse, too,” he added carefully.
And so it was that Tonalist got a perfect trip, sitting just off the pace for most of the trip, before moving up to third around the back stretch and forcing California Chrome 4 wide around the turn. Rosario showed why he’s one of the best riders in America, timing his challenge to perfection. He asked Tonalist for his final effort at exactly the right moment, diving back towards the rail, cutting off Commissioner right before the line and securing the Belmont win that Pleasant Colony hadn’t been able to notch.
His connections were thrilled and rightly so. Tonalist displayed speed, stamina, courage, fast-closing fractions and class and it was a privilege to watch, even though my heart was breaking for California Chrome labouring uncharacteristically across the line in fourth.
Belmont breakdown
The post-race footage was the first clue that all was not well. Where Chrome had previously strutted imperiously off the track after a run, the Belmont footage showed him looking tired and spent and the feelings of disappointment at his fourth suddenly turned to guilt for having expected, demanded even, so much. With all the hype and the pre-race hoopla, we sometimes forget that these are only 3 year olds.
Much has been made of co-owner Steve Coburn’s post-race comments. There has been some debate around his assertion that the Triple Crown format as it stands prevents another winner as well as a lot of ridicule for calling the fresh horses cowards. And justifiably so. It was a thoughtless, unkind thing to say, but I suspect it came from a place of very deep disappointment and anguish at having his dream crushed and having to witness his previously bullet-proof horse being asked the question and coming up empty. I suspect there was also an overwhelming sense of guilt that they had let everyone down.
I know how much pressure there is just taking a friend to a maiden race, the awkward silence as your silks cross the line well out of the placings (one stops counting after a while), the awful trudge to the parade ring to hear the proffered excuses, the sympathetic smiles and excruciating fake cheer of ‘we’ll be back to fight another day’ as our minds grapple with the fact that our horse – and possibly even us – are simply not good enough. I could not imagine what it must have felt like enduring that in front of 100,000 people most of which had turned up just to see Chrome. The NYRA had rolled out the welcome mat and put on so many high class and big money supporting races that Belmont Day was the second richest race day behind the Breeders’ Cup. It was the third largest crowd in Belmont history. There were bands and entertainment and Triple Crown-winning jockeys Ron Turcotte, Jean Cruguet and Steve Cauthen were there for the “riders up” announcement.
I know it’s just a horse race and anything can happen, but racing is not a game to be played in short pants. At that moment, the little bubble of hope that had been buffering him from the reality that horses are well, only human, Steve Coburn’s entire world collapsed on him. And sometimes, no matter how logical we try to be, it just feels personal. We’ve all been there. Luckily we don’t usually have a camera on hand to record it.
One generally learns pretty fast to keep your mouth shut – at least until you’ve seen the replays – but these folks are relative racing newbies and had yet to feel the real sting of disappointment. They’d been living under a veritable media microscope for months and let’s be honest, most of us would be hard pressed not to say anything stupid for 5 minutes, let alone 5 whole weeks. I don’t condone what Coburn did, but I have to say, I certainly understand it. Coburn has rightly been ridiculed and roundly criticised for his comments, but all things being equal, he should get kudos for manning up and apologising, sincerely, for what he said. It takes a big man to say sorry – particularly on National television.
But there is some good news
The hype, hope and heartbreak proved yet again that a good horse and a good story really can generate fans and genuine interest. Despite Coburn’s comments, it was a matter of minutes before the photos of Chrome’s injured heel started circulating and Chrome’s fans swooped to his defence. It didn’t take a lot longer to light the arguments for the backlash against Coburn. And racing got another day of being front page news, which proves that if we produce the big horses and the big stories (even when the heroes mess up), racing is still relevant. If you build it, it seems they will still come.
Medal Count’s Dale Romans perhaps put it best, “It’s unbelievable the way this New York crowd came out here and supported our sport, and I want them to know how much we truly appreciate it. It’s about being around greatness, and California Chrome is greatness. He couldn’t get it done today like the last twelve that tried, but he’s greatness, and it proves people here still appreciate the greatness of this game.”
Some more soundbytes
Art Sherman also had a few words for the media, but unfortunately he received slightly less attention. He said “You know, sometimes in this game when you do have a bad trip, that’s part of it. Hey listen, we’ll be here to fight another day, I’m just happy he’s all in one piece. It was kind of scary, you come back to see a horse bleeding from the foot and he’s never had anything wrong with him; we’ve been awful fortunate.” In fact, after watching the head-on replay of the race, Sherman said he felt fortunate that California Chrome didn’t sustain a more serious injury. “Well, it (the first contact) was up by his tendon,” Sherman said. “That’s what scared me the most. But it wasn’t deep, it was superficial. God, that’s the worst thing that can happen to a horse is you hit his tendon.
He’s got a lot of talent, he just needs a little time off. This Triple Crown is a rough thing to go through. He only got beat a couple of lengths and wasn’t himself, you know what I mean? I just think this is one of the races that we couldn’t win, but he didn’t disgrace us. He still laid the body down.”
Before leaving, Sherman looked out at reporters and said, “It’s been a great run. I appreciate what you guys have been. Everybody has a job to do, and like myself, you try to do the best job you can. Sometimes it works, and sometimes you get beat. That’s just what it is. You can’t be a hero all the time. I appreciate everybody. Thanks.”
So where does that leave us?
Horse racing is a sport of extreme highs and lows and by golly, last Saturday delivered from every angle. Fans may have been disappointed at not crowning Chrome, but there’s no doubt they got their money’s worth. There were big bands, big races and big crowds and best of all, they got their story. From humble beginnings, California Chrome, with his $8,000 mother and $2,500 sire, proved that you don’t need to spend millions to enjoy the ride with a champion. It was a reminder that horses are the great equalizer in the Sport of Kings.
Chrome shot for the Triple Crown and took us all along for the ride and boy was it fun while it lasted. We damn nearly did it too. Despite the injured heel and the moment now dubbed ‘the bump that was heard around the world’ Chrome got within 2 lengths of immortality. But it was only his first attempt.
The real beauty of the story is that the second half of California Chrome’s story begins now. And I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m going to stick along for the ride.
