Fabulous Strike sits out Tom Fool

The field for Sunday's 35th running of the Tom Fool H. (G2) was reduced to

four Sunday morning with the scratch of morning-line favorite and highweight,

FABULOUS STRIKE (Smart Strike).

"He's doing great," trainer Todd Beattie said. "(But) we weighed out the

positives and negatives. I have a lot of respect for MUNNINGS (Speightstown) and

we were giving him 11 pounds today. With the difference in weight, drawing the

one hole and going seven furlongs, we just felt there wasn't a lot working in

his favor. He ran a monstrous effort four weeks ago. I had a long discussion

with (owner) Mr. (Walter) Downey and he felt the same."

The six-year-old Fabulous Strike will be pointed toward the six-furlong,

$250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. (G2) at Saratoga on August 9. In winning the

six-furlong True North H. (G2) at Belmont Park last month in 1:07.85, Fabulous

Strike equaled the stakes record set by Groovy in 1987.

"The Vanderbilt going three-quarters is a much better distance for him,"

Beattie added. "Some extra time will be good for him."

With four betting interests, there will be no show or trifecta wagering in

the Tom Fool. Multi-race wagering is not affected.