tom's d'etat | Horse Racing Free Tips

Tom’s d’Etat to WinStar Farm

Leading GI Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike–Julia Tuttle, by Giant’s Causeway), hero of the 2019 GI Clark S. and an impressive last out winner of the GII Stephen Foster S. with a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure, will stand at WinStar Farm upon the conclusion of his racing career.

Campaigned by Gayle Benson’s G M B Racing and trainer Al Stall, Jr., he has compiled a record of 18-11-2-1 and earnings of $1,627,272. Tom’s d’Etat is currently on a four-race winning streak and has his sights set on the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga for his next target.

“I have been honored to be able to train two great horses in [2010 Champion Older Horse and leading stallion] Blame and Tom’s d’Etat,” said Stall. “[Tom’s d’Etat] has been brilliant winning four in a row, and I can’t wait to lead him back over there in the Whitney.”

Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock LLC., the 7-year-old brought $330,000 as a KEESEP yearling. He is produced by the stakes-winning and multiple stakes-placed Giant’s Causeway mare Julia Tuttle, who is out of Candy Cane (Arg), a full sister to GI Pacific Classic winner and leading sire Candy Ride (Arg).

“When my late husband, Tom, decided in 2014 that we were going to enter the horse racing business, the first place we came to was WinStar Farm to see their operation,” said Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. “G M B Racing is extremely excited that our best horse, Tom’s d’Etat, will begin his stud career with Kenny Troutt and his entire team at WinStar. We look forward to watching the second half of his career be just as successful as his first, and we know he will get that opportunity at WinStar. I am also eager to bring many of our mares from Benson Farm to breed to him in the coming years.”

Elliott Walden, WinStar’s president, CEO, and racing manager, added, “Tom’s d’Etat has proven over the last two years to be of the highest quality. Eleven of his last 12 Thoro-Graph figures are negative numbers. He has nine triple-digit Beyers and eight in a row. He was .02 off the track record in his last start at historic Churchill Downs, and he won two of the best races in the country at 1 1/8 miles in the Stephen Foster and the Clark.

“Any way you slice it, he is top class,” Walden continued. “He is the last great son of Smart Strike from the family of Candy Ride. We walked Speightstown into the stallion barn at age seven and Distorted Humor at age six. Hopefully, he will be another story we can tell how he defied the odds like them.”

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Ghaiyyath Leads World Rankings

Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who won his second consecutive Group 1 on Sunday when turning back Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G1 Coral-Eclipse, leads the latest edition of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2020 with a mark of 127 for that latest effort.

Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) finished 2019 as the world’s highest-rated stayer, and he maintains that position after earning a rating of 125 for his third victory in the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

Japan’s Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and Australia’s Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) share third at 124 for their victories, respectively, in the G1 Victoria Mile and G1 TJ Smith S. Joint fifth at a mark of 123 are Britain’s Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), upset winner of the G1 Prince of Wales’s S. at Royal Ascot, and America’s Tom’s D’Etat (Smart Strike), a Grade I winner last year who has won four straight including the June 27 GII Stephen Foster S.

Click here for the complete rankings.

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Days After Major Victory In Stephen Foster, Mena Hits, 2,000-Win Milestone

Jockey Miguel Mena won his 2,000th career victory in Friday's fifth race on the second day of the RUNHAPPY Summer Meet at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., going wire to wire on Michael Langford's 3-year-old Substantial in the maiden race on turf.

Active on social media, Mena said he learned from Twitter that he was close to the milestone. Mena achieved win 1,998 in high-profile fashion by taking Churchill Downs' Grade 2 Stephen Foster on leading older horse Tom's d'Etat. No. 1,999 came on Ellis' opening card.

“A lot of folks were posting how I was two away, three away and I was one away today,” said Mena, Ellis Park's 2006 riding champion. “I've been riding since I was 16. I came to America when I was 17 years old. Two thousand wins, a lot of hard work went into it, and it has paid off.”

The native of Peru began riding in America in 2003. Now 33, Mena has earned at least $1 million in purse earnings every year since 2005. He has won at least 100 races every year since 2006, with the exception of 2018, when he was sidelined much of the year after sustaining eight fractures to his ankle and heel in a riding mishap. Delaying his recovery was the fact that surgery wasn't possible because of the development of massive blisters that made the risk of infection too great.

But Mena came back with a vengeance last year, his $6.5 million in purses his highest in seven years. For his persistence, Mena was chosen recipient of the Fair Grounds' first Randy Romero “Pure Courage” Award.

The jockey, who won 50 races in Peru, says back then he couldn't have imagined winning 2,000 races in the United States.

“I never did,” he said. “I came with a lot of dreams. I came very hungry to work my butt off. I'm so grateful to this country. It has given me a better life, not only for me but for my family in Peru as well. I'm very thankful to America.”

Mena's 15,395 career mounts have earned purses exceeding $68.5 million. While now still in his prime, the jockey's statistics might have been even more impressive had a drinking problem at age 22 not threatened to derail his promising career. A turning point came when he married his wife, April, in 2011, the couple subsequently having daughters Naelah and Montserrat.

“We all grow up different. I appreciate the ups and downs that I've been through,” he said. “It has taught me a lot; it has made me mature. Things are going the right way. I just knock on wood to keep it that way.”

Asked about achieving 3,000 wins, Mena said, “Well, we're going to work for it. Ten more years, who knows? We'll keep on working hard.”

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Despite ‘Unprecedented Pandemic,’ Churchill Downs Reports 53.3 Percent Wagering Increase

All-sources wagering on Churchill Downs' abbreviated 27-date Spring Meet totaled $240.5 million, which was a 53.3% increase from the 32 days of racing that followed last year's Kentucky Derby. Additionally, the average daily handle was up 81.7% from $4.9 million one year ago to $8.9 million this season.

The 146th Spring Meet, which was delayed and shortened to seven weeks from May 16-June 28, was staged under strict government-sanctioned protocols and without spectators for the first time in track history because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no guests in attendance, many bettors were able to watch the racing action on FOX Sports' “America's Day at the Races,” which aired nationally every race day in high definition on either FS1 or FS2 through a partnership with FOX Sports and the New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA).

Wagers on Churchill Downs' racing product were placed almost exclusively online via advance deposit wagering outlets, led by TwinSpires.com – the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated, its family of racetracks and the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs experienced four of the track's six largest non-Derby, Oaks or Breeders' Cup betting days in track history, led by a record $19.3 million on May 23 (Stephen Foster Preview Day). Other big days were $16.8 million on May 30 (Winning Colors/Old Forester Mint Julep); $14.3 million on May 16 (Opening Day); and $13.8 million on June 27 (Stephen Foster Day).

“In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, we can't thank our horsemen and horseplayers enough for their continued support and enthusiastic response throughout the Spring Meet,” said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery. “Our team worked tirelessly with public health officials and our horsemen navigated through uncharted territory to deliver an important economic driver in a safe environment for thousands of individuals in the Commonwealth. I couldn't be more proud of our staff and everyone who made the season possible. It was, however, an incredibly unusual season without fans in the stands, and they were greatly missed. We very much look forward to welcoming them back to Churchill Downs for Kentucky Derby Week in September.”

A total of 2,536 horses made starts in the 268 races for a substantial average of 9.5 horses per race – up from 8.4 horses in 2019.

Purses paid to horsemen totaled $15.6 million and averaged $576,000 per day compared to last year's $601,000 daily average. The average purse per race was $58,000 compared to last season's $63,000.

Some of the sport's brightest equine stars shined at Churchill Downs during the Spring Meet, led by Midnight Bisou (21-13-5-3—$7,371,520) and Tom's d'Etat (18-11-2-1—$1,627,272), the top two-ranked horses on the June 29 National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.

On June 27, Midnight Bisou, the 2019 Champion Older Dirt Female, powered home to an easy 8 ¼-length win in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis presented by Coca-Cola (Grade II). One race later, Tom's d'Etat delivered a brilliant performance in the $500,000 Stephen Foster presented by Coca-Cola (Grade II) as the 7-year-old horse collected his fourth consecutive stakes win while clocking 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.30 – just .02 off Victory Gallop's 1999 track and stakes record.

Both Tom's d'Etat and Midnight Bisou earned spots in the Breeders' Cup Classic and Distaff, respectively, at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

Other top horses who won stakes during the meet included $100,000 Aristides winner Volatile (5-4-1-0—$203,540), who emerged as a top contender for this fall's Breeders' Cup Sprint (GI); $100,000 Louisville (GIII) winner Admission Office (14-4-5-2—$432,957); $100,000 Blame winner Owendale (16-6-2-2—$1,143,735); $200,000 Wise Dan (GII) winner Factor This (29-10-3-4—$844,070); 2019 Breeders' Futurity (GI) winner Maxfield (3-3-0-0—$442,762), who won the $150,000 Matt Winn (GIII); 2019 Alabama (GI) winner Dunbar Road (8-5-1-1—$758,040), who won the $100,000 Shawnee; and 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GI) winner Sharing (6-4-1-1—$856,471), who won the $100,000 Tepin in advance of running second in the Group 1 Coronation at Royal Ascot.

Allowance winners during the season included 2018 Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Monomoy Girl (12-10-2-0—$3,008,618) and 2019 Acorn (GI) and Coaching Club American Oaks (GI) winner Guarana (5-4-1-0—$928,268).

Eleven horses won multiple races at the meet, including $100,000 Dogwood (GIII) winner Four Graces (4-3-0-0—$134,450); promising 2-year-old and Bashford Manor (GIII) winner Cazadero (2-2-0-0—$106,160); turf sprinter Change of Control (17-5-4-2—$295,849); improving 3-year-old Art Collector (7-3-1-0—$188,475); and rising 3-year-old filly Paris Lights (3-2-0-1—$95,412).

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen (100-17-11-10—$1,112,065) not only won his record-extending 23rd Churchill Downs training title, 17 wins to 16 over Brad Cox (69-16-8-6—$777,195), but he overtook south Louisville native Dale Romans (44-7-6-3—$239,159) as the track's all-time leading trainer. Asmussen has won 747 career races at Churchill Downs, three more than Romans, who overtook renowned Bill Mott (42-8-4-4—$481,140) on Nov. 12, 2017 after a 31-year reign.

Mott, who has 728 career wins at Churchill Downs, became only the seventh trainer in history to record 5,000 career wins when Moon Over Miami (7-2-0-0—$98,702) won at the Louisville track on June 20. Longtime Mott assistant Kenny McCarthy saddled the winner and accepted the local accolades.

Tyler Gaffalione (153-31-34-17—$1,711,573), 25, reaffirmed his status as one of the sport's escalating young stars by easily defeating 19-time local riding champion Corey Lanerie (167-24-18-23—$1,253,138), 31 wins to 24, in the jockey standings.

Owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey (18-5-2-1—$184,411) earned their record-extending 33rd crown as the leading owners at Churchill Downs. On May 24, the Nicholasville, Ky. couple registered their unprecedented 500th win beneath the Twin Spires, and finished the season with a total of 504 career Churchill Downs wins.

Gayle Benson's G M B Racing (7-2-1-0—$368,532), the owners of Tom's d'Etat, was the meet's top money-earning owner.

Racing in Kentucky will shift to Ellis Park (July 2-5 and July 17-Aug. 30) and Keeneland (July 8-12) before it returns to Churchill Downs in nine weeks for the rescheduled Kentucky Derby Week (Sept. 1-5). The 146th runnings of the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) and Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) will be staged with spectators under strict guidelines on Friday, Sept. 4 and Saturday, Sept. 5, respectively.

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