| **For video of V. E. Day's breeze, click here: http://youtu.be/3pVf4chPJtQ** **For video of Tonalist's breeze, click here: http://youtu.be/0vO4tqplIJ4 ** Monday, September 22, 2014 Contact: Jon Forbes jforbes@nyrainc.com V. E. Day, Tonalist breeze on training track for G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup ELMONT, N.Y. - A pair of Grade 1-winning 3-year-olds turned in separate five-furlong breezes on the Belmont Park training track on Monday, with Travers winner V. E. Day covering the distance in 1:00.69 and Belmont Stakes victor Tonalist being clocked in 1:00.09. Both colts went out at approximately 9:40 a.m. and are expected to compete in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup for 3-year-olds and up at 1 ¼ miles on Saturday at Belmont. The training track was labeled "good." V. E. Day, who is trained by Jimmy Jerkens for Magalen O. Bryant, went alone under exercise rider Kelvin Pahal. "It wasn't an ideal track, but it was good enough," said Jerkens. "I wanted to give him a work on the main track, but [breezing on the training track] was a no-brainer. I thought his breeze was good. I watched it from the eighth pole, but it looked like he was nice and steady the whole way." Tonalist, ridden by jockey Joel Rosario, worked in company with stablemate Bluegrass Flash. It was the first workout over the training track for Tonalist, who is trained by Christophe Clement for Robert Evans. "We had to reschedule the work twice, unfortunately, because of the weather," said Clement. "The main track was not suitable yesterday or this morning. So we went to the training track, which was a first for him. It was a little bit difficult for me to assess the work, because I've had nothing to compare it with. But, he worked fast, he worked well, he was moving well in the work, and the jockey was happy. So we're all happy." In the Travers, V. E. Day closed from seventh and got up in the last stride to defeat his stablemate, Wicked Strong, by a nose. Tonalist was third, beaten 2 ½ lengths. On Saturday, Wicked Strong breezed six furlongs in 1:13.15 over the main track. The Jockey Club Gold Cup is one of six graded stakes on TVG Super Saturday. Other TVG Super Saturday stakes contenders on the Monday worktab were Abaco (Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl), four furlongs on yielding turf in 49.22; Imagining (Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic); five furlongs on yielding turf in 1:02.96; Micromanage (Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic), four furlongs on yielding turf in 50.01 seconds; Scarly Charly (Grade 2, $400,000 Kelso Handicap), five furlongs on the training track in 1:01.17; and Stopchargingmaria (Grade 1, $400,000 Beldame), four furlongs on the training track in 48.24 seconds. -30- |
