NYRA/Adam Coglianese
By Bill Heller
Cobra Farm, RR Partners and Head of Plains Partners’ terrific three-year-old New York-bred gelding Twisted Tom made his debut against older horses in the 42nd running of the mile and an eighth $300,000 Empire Classic Handicap on Empire Showcase Day Saturday at Belmont Park. He treated them with the same disdain as the three-year-olds he’s been regularly thumping.
Confidently ridden by Javier Castellano, Twisted Tom, the even-money favorite in the field of nine, disputed the pace on the outside of 9-1 Control Group and Irad Ortiz Jr., took the front when asked and rolled to his third consecutive victory by a comfortable three lengths in 1:49.38. That gave Castellano and trainer Chad Brown their second consecutive stakes victory after winning the 37th running of the $200,000 Ticonderoga Stakes with Fifty Five. The Empire Classic Handicap was the fifth race on Saturday’s all New York-bred card of 11 races.
Control Group gamely saved second by a nose over 12-1 Can You Diggit and Manny Franco. Papa Shot, who was 13-1 on the rail under Dylan Davis, finished another 2 ¾ lengths back in fourth.
Dr. William Wilmot and Dr. Joan Taylor bred Twisted Tom, a son of Creative Cause out of Tiffany Twisted by Thunder Gulch.
Twisted Tom has now won six of his last seven starts, the only loss a horrible-luck sixth in the mile-and-a-half Grade 1 Belmont Stakes when he clipped heels on the first turn and lost by 27 ¾ lengths. Since the Belmont Stakes, he won the New York Derby at Finger Lakes by a half-length and the Albany Stakes at Saratoga by 4 ½ lengths.
“He’s a super consistent horse,” Brown said. “I am really proud of him. Just look at his form, how he has developed over the year. He is a real fine racehorse. We are lucky to have him.”
Castellano got him away second on the outside of Control Group and they raced 1-2 for the entire nine furlongs. “He has a high cruising speed and the horses weren’t going that fast, and I loved Javier’s decision early to just put him right in the race,” Brown said. “He got him in a nice rhythm down the backside. It looked like he had the other horse measured.”
Control Group led Twisted Tom by a head after a first quarter, but Twisted Tom took a head lead after a half-mile in :48.08. Control Group responded on the rail and led by a neck after three-quarters in 1:12.37. They had 2 ½ lengths on Papa Shot in third. The others were struggling to keep up.
Castellano asked Twisted Tom to take over in early stretch and he quickly did, edging away from Control Group. Twisted Tom finished a mile in 1:36.73 with an expanding lead and he cruised home to yet another victory.
NYRA/Chelsea Durand
“He’s the kind of horse you can put wherever you want,” Castellano said. “He’s very straightforward. He went easy and comfortable today. He picked it up at the end. We had a lucky trip and we had the opportunity to get it done.”
Twisted Tom is making the most of his opportunities. He is now six-of-eight on dirt and one-for-two on turf with earnings of more than $680,000.
Control Group was hardly disgraced by finishing second. “He ran his race; he just got beat,” Ortiz said. “H was second best today. He fought. I’m happy.”
Twisted Tom is already a lock to win the male New York-bred three-year-old title, and he also has captured two open stakes in Maryland.
Brown isn’t sure if Twisted Tom will race again this year. “My initial plan was to rest him at this point,” Brown said. “He has had a long, hard campaign that started off this winter here. Sooner or later you have to give him a break. But I will discuss that with the ownership group and go from there. And in the weeks to come, we’ll made a final decision.”
