Racing Dudes Three Stars of the Week: State-Bred Races Take Center Stage

This past weekend was all about the state-breds, with restricted stakes races at Belmont, Laurel, Remington, and Woodbine highlighting the action. It’s always nice for these hard-knocking horses to get some of the spotlight, and a few of them jumped out from the others. Let’s take a look at our Three Stars of the Week:

1. Twisted Tom

Many may remember Twisted Tom for his failures in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, but other than that race, he’s quietly had himself a fantastic year. He’s won six of seven now, following his runaway victory in the Empire Classic Handicap last Saturday. His six wins have come at five different race tracks as well, which shows his class. In the Empire Classic, he faced older horses for the first time, dusting them off in a similar fashion to how he’s been beating 3-year-olds all year long.

2. Inflexibility

Inflexibility certainly called on all of her class to win this one by a neck in the end. She looked loaded and ready to run throughout the entire race but was blocked in badly until mid-stretch. When she was finally able to get outside, she grinded away to catch Ghostly Presence just yards before the wire. It was a big win for a filly who finished third in the Queen’s Plate and fourth in a tough running of the Grade 2 Sands Point two races back. Trainer Chad Brown will have plenty of options for her after this win.

3 Black Tide

On paper, this race looked to be lacking in speed other than Black Tide, and that’s exactly how it played out. Black Tide jumped to the lead early and led this field every step of the way to win the Mohawk Stakes over a fast-closing Offering Plan. This former claimer got hot during the Spring with back-to-back wins at Belmont Park, then also picked up an allowance win at Saratoga over the summer. However, this stakes victory was the biggest win of his career and could lead to more down the road.