Caleb’s Posse to start his new campaign in the Tom Fool Stakes
Caleb’s Posse was set to start his 2012 campaign with a run in the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap at about six furlongs on 3 March, 2012, against 5 other 3-year-old and above males over the Aqueduct racecourse’s inner track, and trainer Von Hemel is sticking with the original plan for his 4-year-old.
Some might think that trainer Donnie Von Hemel is using the Tom Fool Handicap as a prep race for the Grade 1 Carter Handicap, which is scheduled to go underway on 7 April, 2012, also at Aqueduct over seven furlongs, but Von Hemel made it pretty clear that it’s not the case with Caleb’s Posse opting for the Tom Fool Stakes as a prep race for the Carter Handicap.
The reason being that both races are run over at different tracks at Aqueduct, and there is no such intent of getting use to the track because the Carter Handicap will be run over an entirely different track altogether.
He further went on to say that the Tom Fool Stakes offers a good purse and it’s a good race to start off proceedings with. Caleb’s Posse was considered to be the best miler in the country at the end of last year after bagging the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at the backend of his season.
Considering that he has run only once over a distance of six furlongs, many wouldn’t be sure if that’s his distance, but then again Caleb’s Posse has done well over distances ranging from five and a half furlongs to 1 1/16 miles.
His lone race over a distance of 6 furlongs came way back in 2010, and it was an allowance test at Keeneland, which he easily won over a fast approaching Uncle Wayne in the stretch and Tale of Lucknfame, who apparently finished second and third, respectively.
His major sprint achievements would be winning the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga last year, going over a distance of six and a half furlongs under Rajiv Maragh, and defeating Redeemed in second and Wine Police in third.
Then in the next sprint he nosed out, Uncle Mo, who was making his first start after a lengthy layoff in the Grade 1 King's Bishop Stakes also at Saratoga over a distance of seven furlongs.
Von Hemel has tried his versatile 4-year-old colt on various distances with ample success, and he is not shy of doing the same with his colt this year as well.
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