V. E. Day, Tonalist get in final Gold Cup drills

A pair of Grade 1-winning three-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 3/5 and Belmont Stakes victor Tonalist

being clocked in 1:00.

Both colts went out at approximately 9:40 a.m. (EDT) and are expected to

compete in the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles on

Saturday. 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," Jerkens said. "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,"

Clement said. "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

1/2 lengths. On Saturday, Wicked Strong breezed six furlongs in 1:13 over the

main track.

Other Super Saturday stakes contenders on the Monday worktab were Abaco

(Grade 1, $600,000 Flower Bowl), four furlongs on yielding turf in :49 1/5;

Imagining (Grade 1, $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic); five furlongs on yielding

turf in 1:02 4/5; Micromanage (Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic), four furlongs

on yielding turf in :50; Scarly Charly (Grade 2, $400,000 Kelso Handicap), five

furlongs on the training track in 1:01; and Stopchargingmaria (Grade 1, $400,000

Beldame), four furlongs on the training track in :48 1/5.

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