Tom’s Ready certainly is! The 3-year-old heads into the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile fresh off a snappy victory in the Ack Ack Stakes at Churchill Downs Oct. 1 at the same distance. Among those left in his wake was last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint victor Runhappy.
Tom’s Ready is owned by Gayle Marie Benson [GMB Racing], wife of New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans owner Tom Benson. The Bensons just ventured into thoroughbred ownership in 2014, and this colt was their first purchase. He fetched $145,000 as a yearling at the Saratoga Fasig-Tipton sale.
Spendthrift Farm has already secured breeding rights to the More Than Ready colt when his racing career is over.
Tom’s Ready has banked $640,267 with three wins and four seconds from 13 starts. He also captured the Woody Stephens Stakes at seven furlongs in early June at Belmont Park, after running 12th in the Kentucky Derby. That marked his first stakes score after running second in both the Lecomte Stakes and the Louisiana Derby, both at the Fairgrounds.