Doubting Thomas the real deal in inaugural $175K Bricks and Mortar

The Estate of R. Larry Johnson’s Virginia homebred Doubting Thomas stalked and pounced to notch his third career stakes coup in Saturday’s inaugural running of the $175,000 Bricks and Mortar, a seven-furlong Widener turf sprint for sophomores, at Belmont Park.

Trained by Michael Trombetta, the son of Caravaggio rebounded from an uncharacteristic sixth under Hall of Famer John Velazquez last out when stretched out to a two-turn mile for the first time in the Gio Ponti on September 7 at Saratoga Race Course. He relished a return to one turn on Saturday to add to previous stakes success at Colonial Downs in the restricted Jamestown last August and the Colonial Turf Dash this summer on August 8.

“Johnny, when he rode him at Saratoga, he was doing so good, and we loved our chances,” Trombetta recalled. “We were all disappointed when he didn’t run well. Johnny came back and said he just didn’t seem to appreciate the two turns. So, I was relieved to see him handle this today.”

Jockey Jorge Ruiz, who was aboard for the colt’s first four starts that included the Jamestown score, climbed back aboard on Saturday. The productive pair exited sharpest of all from post 8-of-9 before settling behind the pace set by Intricate Spirit, who emerged from a tight bunch at the helm to mark an opening quarter-mile in 21.92 seconds over the firm footing.

“He [Ruiz] knows the horse and has ridden him a bunch,” Trombetta said. “When I asked him if he wanted to make the trip, he was all in. He worked him and loved the way that he worked and here we are.”

Learntodiscover tracked along the inside in second with Feline Curious applying mild pressure from third on the outside before moving up in the turn with Doubting Thomas following his run. Intricate Spirit reached the half-mile in 44.29, but had a swarm of rivals waiting to pounce exiting the turn.

The pacesetter clung to a precarious lead entering the stretch with Feline Curious spinning his wheels and Doubting Thomas inching closer with every stride in the center of the course while the favored Two Out Hero attempted to advance up the inside. Intricate Spirit gave way late and Doubting Thomas kicked on, proving best as he gamely fought off the flying bid of the Edgard Zayas-piloted Iron Palace to score by one length in a final time of 1:20.17.

Big Destroyer – who was off slow at the start – rallied on to complete the trifecta by a neck over Six O Clock with Intricate Spirit, Proton, Two Out Hero, Feline Curious and Learntodiscover following them home.

Ruiz said Doubting Thomas was well-positioned for success.

“He broke good and sat in a good position," Ruiz said. "I waited for the quarter [pole] and send him for the win. He’s a nice horse.”

Trombetta added that Doubting Thomas is likely to make his next start in the six-furlong $175,000 Carle Place on November 7 here.

Zayas said the George Weaver-trained Iron Palace was also appreciative of a turnback in distance following a fifth traveling 1 1/16 miles against optional claiming company last out in August at the Spa.

“He ran a good race. He was cutting back from a mile and a sixteenth and dropped back a little bit early, but he came on really nice,” Zayas said. “I really like him going shorter.

“They were going pretty fast early, that’s why he couldn’t keep up, but he came on running at the end,” he added.

Doubting Thomas is a half-brother to Grade 3-winner Spun Glass out of the dual stakes-placed Songandaprayer mare Allwewantforxmas, while his second dam is stakes-winner Grecian Wings. He banked $96,250 in victory while improving his record to 7-4-2-0 and returning $9.62 on a $2 win bet.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont Park with a nine-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

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