Evening Attire worked five furlongs in 1:00 4/5, breezing under exercise rider Danny Vogt on Belmont Park's fast training track Thursday morning, as he continued to train forward for the grade I, $1-million Jockey Club Gold Cup at 10 furlongs on Saturday, Oct. 2. The time was the fastest of five works at the distance on the training track.Owned by Joe and Mary Grant and retired Hall of Fame trainer Tommy "T.J." Kelly, the 6-year-old gelded son of 1991 Horse of the Year Black Tie Affair, is going for his second Jockey Club Gold Cup victory. Trained by Kelly's son, Pat, Evening Attire won the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2002."He was out there about 7 o'clock, and there was a horse down in front of him," Pat Kelly said. "So, he sort of got tangled up in that. It probably slowed him down a bit; otherwise, he might have gone too fast. I just hope the other horse and rider are all right."The horse and rider escaped uninjured.Evening Attire, who has banked more than $2,269,990, is expected to face Domestic Dispute, Peace Rules, Seattle Fitz, Supah Blitz and The Cliff's Edge, with Dynever, Funny Cide, Sarava and Total Impact listed as questionable.Kelly said that Evening Attire might have "another leg-stretcher" next week.Working over the Belmont main track Thursday was Edmund A. Gann's Peace Rules, who went a bullet five furlongs of :58 2/5, breezing, for Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel.In his only start at Belmont Park, the 4-year-old Jules colt defeated Newfoundland by a neck to win the Suburban Handicap (gr. I) at 10 furlongs on July 3.
Sackatoga Stable's Funny Cide worked six furlongs in 1:11 3/5 on the fast main track under assistant trainer Robin Smullen, but trainer Barclay Tagg said that the 2003 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness (gr. I) winner remains questionable for the Jockey Club Gold Cup."I'll probably do a little something with him again next week, and then make a decision," Tagg said. "We have three possibilities for him, and I want to see how these races shape up."According to Tagg, the options for Funny Cide are the Jockey Club Gold Cup; the $750,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup (gr. II) at 10 furlongs, also on Oct. 2; and the $500,000 Meadowlands Breeders' Cup Stakes (gr. II) at nine furlongs on Friday night, Oct. 8.
