2014 Belmont Stakes Winner
February 11 -Tonalist and Constitution
These are two of the better sons of Tapit, best known for throwing gray babies, here are two bays.
Tonalist is owned by Shell Evans whose family has been in racing for generations, including Kentucky Derby winner Pleasant Colony who was raced by Shell's father. Shell's brother Ned Evans had a great racing stable of his own based out of his Virginia based operation, Spring Hill Farm, whose best horse quite possibly being Quality Road.
The painting of Tonalist was originally painted with the Lane's End stallion barn as a backdrop. Shell said he didn't want to promote their farm; he wanted to show his farm, so, a little face lift courtesy of some brush magic and viola, Tonalist is back home in Maryland.
I've painted Constitution twice, once racing at Gulfstream winning the G1 Donn Handicap. The other time, Constitution was part of a painting of stallions that raced for Twin Creeks. That is him, the brown horse in the middle being held by one of the owners of Twin Creeks, Randy Gullatt. His wife, Kim, is holding Graydar on the right. Randy was a trainer back when Kim was a jockey. That’s some more viola, right there!
Constitution came out the gate as a stallion at full speed with his first foal crop producing several good runners, including the G1 winning Tiz The Law.
Interesting, earlier this week before I even realized they shared a birthday, I was talking with a couple of thoroughbred breeders and the comparison of Tonalist and Constitution was the topic. While Constitution has already made a name for himself as a stallion, the consensus kind of surprised me when these breeders that I respect were adamant that Tonalist was going to be the one that leaves the biggest footprint on the breed in 20 years. Nothing negative on Constitution, but great expectations for Tonalist.
Time will tell but it makes me think of a quote from Mark Twain, "It is the difference of opinion that makes horse racing."
Side note - The painting of the Twin Creeks stallions was based upon a painting by Richard Stone Reeves of Claiborne Farm stallions back in the late ‘70s with Secretariat, Nijinksy II, and Spectacular Bid. I shared the concept with Randy and Kim, and they loved it. I think Reeve's painting was titled Three Kings and so we borrowed that title and then the game of alternative names started – from Three Kings, there came several variations that kept getting more ridiculous, until "Five Studs and a Nag." That one came from Randy . . . he slept in a sleeping bag in the barn for a month after that one.
Tonalist is best remembered as the colt who denied California Chrome the Triple Crown in the 2014 Belmont Stakes. He was foaled in 2011, a son of the great sire Tapit out of the mare Settling Mist. He raced for Robert S. Evans, a longtime New York based owner, and he was trained by Christophe Clement, the elegant French born horseman who had built a strong stable on the East Coast. Joel Rosario was the rider for the biggest day of his career.
Tonalist had not run in either the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness Stakes because of a foot bruise that interrupted his spring. He skipped the first two legs of the Triple Crown but came back to win the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park in May 2014, earning his shot at the Belmont Stakes three weeks later. The country was watching to see if California Chrome could become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Christophe Clement quietly believed his fresh colt was up to the challenge.
The 2014 Belmont Stakes unfolded as a gritty stretch battle. California Chrome ran a brave race but had nothing extra in the long Belmont stretch, and Tonalist rolled past the leaders under Joel Rosario to win by a head over Commissioner. The Belmont Park crowd of more than 102,000 had come hoping for history, but they instead saw a fresh horse beat a tired Triple Crown contender. California Chrome's owner publicly grumbled afterward about horses skipping the first two legs and showing up fresh for the Belmont, but the result was on the books for good.
Tonalist kept rolling through his older years. He captured the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in both 2014 and 2015 and the Cigar Mile Handicap in both years as well, becoming one of the most consistent older male horses of his era. He retired with earnings of more than $3.6 million and went to stud at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky. Tonalist is remembered as a brilliant Grade 1 winner in his own right, and as the colt who broke American hearts by stopping a Triple Crown bid in one of the most memorable Belmonts of the modern era.
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