By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
The official chart from the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes will forever show Twisted Tom was nothing more than a well-beaten also-ran, a mere footnote on the day Tapwrit reigned supreme.
The post-race examination of Twisted Tom’s powerful legs told another story.
The chestnut grandson of 1995 Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch lost any realistic chance to perform well in the June 10 Belmont Stakes the moment the field went barreling into the first turn.
A head-strong Hollywood Handsome ran up into Twisted Tom from behind, then Lookin At Lee and Twisted Tom bumped one another as they continued around the turn. Thoroughbred racing was never meant to resemble a demolition derby.
“He got clipped by another horse and he was very, very cut up after the race,” trainer Chad Brown said. “Thankfully he didn’t sustain any injuries that were more significant.”
Twisted Tom continued to run the mile and a half course for the Belmont Stakes, but he didn’t have the late kick his connections expected. Thus, despite good early position under jockey JJ Castellano, Twisted Tom ended up sixth in the 11-horse field, nearly 28 lengths behind Tapwrit.
Not a good day, especially since the ownership group of Cobra Farm, Inc., R R Partners and Head of Plains Partners LLC paid a $75,000 supplemental fee to enter the Belmont Stakes.
“It was very disappointing because the owners put up plenty of money to run,” Brown said by phone on Thursday afternoon.
Brown hopes Twisted Tom can enjoy a much smoother journey on Saturday afternoon when he faces six state-bred rivals in the $150,000 New York Derby at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack.
Twisted Tom is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the New York Derby, a stakes race of 1 mile and 1/16th for state-bred 3-year-olds. The Derby is the seventh race on an eight-race program. First race post is 1:10 p.m.
Twisted Tom has won four of seven lifetime starts, including a pair of stakes wins at Laurel Park in the spring. Jockey Feargal Lynch was aboard for both, and he’ll make the trip to Finger Lakes from Maryland on Saturday.
“He missed maybe two weeks of training but he didn’t miss a significant amount of time,” Brown said of his horse.
A bullet workout on June 29 is solid evidence that Twisted Tom recovered well from the Belmont Stakes calamity. He breezed four furlongs in :48.63 seconds, the fastest of 61 horses to work that distance over the training track at Saratoga. He had similar workouts on July 7 (:48.88) and July 15 (:48.78).
Prime contenders are:
Gold for the King, locally owned and bred by Francis Paolangeli and trained by Charlton Baker. He is 4-for-9 lifetime, has hit the board in all but one start, and is the leading money-earner in the field ($391,568). He won the New York Breeders’ Futurity at Finger Lakes in October and the New York Stallion stakes at Aqueduct in April. Mike Luzzi will be aboard for the first time.
Broken Engagement, who has won two of four starts for trainer Rudy Rodriguez but has yet to face stakes company. Joshua Navarro will ride.
Pat On the Back, who is trained by Ken McPeek and will be ridden by Dylan Davis. Pat On the Back won the six-furlong Ontario County Stakes on June 26 at Finger Lakes and was third in the Mike Lee at Belmont on May 29.
The field:
1 — Dynamax Prime (jockey Hector Rafael Diaz Jr., trainer George Weaver).
2 — Pat On the Back (Dylan Davis, Ken McPeek).
3 — Twisted Tom (Feargal Lynch, Chad Brown).
4 — Gold for the King (Mike Luzzi, Charlton Baker).
5 — Six Sided Bling (Jose Cruz, M. Anthony Ferraro).
6 — Broken Engagement (Joshua Navarro, Rudy Rodriguez).
7 — Can You Diggit (John Davila, James Jerkins).
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