Mo Tom likely to point for Belmont

Edited from Churchill Downs press release

G M B Racing's Mo Tom, who finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) for trainer Tom Amoss, might be headed to the third jewel of the Triple Crown, G M B racing manager Greg Bensel said Sunday morning.

"I talked to Tom,'' Bensel said. "The horse came back good. We're probably going to give him a little break here. At the end of the day, we'd like to take a shot at the Belmont. We'll see how he trains the next 10 days or two weeks and decide from there.''

Mo Tom, who had traffic issues between the three-eighths pole and quarter pole in the Derby, finished 10 1/4 lengths behind Nyquist.

Fellow G M B Racing runner Tom's Ready came out of the Derby healthy but "a little tired,'' trainer Dallas Stewart said Sunday morning.

Tom's Ready finished 12th, 17 lengths behind Nyquist. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. gave Tom's Ready an excellent trip, Stewart said.

"I'm very happy with the way he came back,'' Stewart said. "He looks good. ... He's bright enough, and we're happy that he was able to run in it. Congratulations to the winner and everybody who hit the board. It looked like a great race for everybody.

"It's such a great thing to be in the race. Where we're going to go from here, we'll just have to take a week or so and see. I don't have feelings that we'll go to the Preakness. I don't think that that's the right thing to do. Maybe something at Belmont.

“I might shorten him up a little bit. I don't know. There are a lot of good races. We'll sit down and write them all down and look at every 3-year-old race and see where we need to be. Sometimes coming off a race like this, he's still a non-winners-of-two. Maybe just give him a little shot to win one and get his head back. Try to make a good year of it.”

Mo Tom photo courtesy Churchill Downs/Coady Photography.