Tommy Jo wins Alcibiades via disqualification

Oct 04, 2025 James Scully

Tommy Jo, shown finishing second to Percy's Bar, was awarded the Alcibiades via disqualification (Photo by Coady Media)

After being bumped in upper stretch, Spendthrift Farm’s homebred Tommy Jo was awarded Friday’s $650,000 Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland via disqualification. The bumping incident merited a change in order, knocking Tommy Jo off stride temporarily at a key stage in the race, but the outcome proved to be bitter pill for the connections of Percy’s Bar, who was in the process of turning back her rival’s challenge when she came out, eventually finishing first by nearly three lengths.

Tommy Jo notched her second stakes victory, romping previously in the seven-furlong Spinaway (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 30, and improved her record to 3-for-3. John Velazquez rides the daughter of Into Mischief for Todd Pletcher.

“(Disqualification) is not the way you want to win,” Pletcher said. “I thought the filly was running a good race, and there was obviously a lot of contact that impacted her ability to finish. Whether or not it was the difference in her getting to the finish line first or not, I don’t know. It was a significant bump. I thought she got a little bit tired. I think she’ll benefit from the two-turn experience, and that’s part of what we were hoping for.”

Velazquez also felt the disqualification was just.

“I felt like she was gaining on (Percy’s Bar) little by little, head and head (coming around the far turn), and I got after her. (Percy’s Bar) touched her the first time, but the second time she went completely off her lead. Then (Percy’s Bar) opened up a length-and-a-half (lead) and it’s hard for a horse to re-engage again. She was fighting at the point when it happened, and honestly I hate to get it this way (by disqualification), but I’m glad.”

Percy’s Bar, who won her first two starts, including a five-length tally in the Debutante at Churchill Downs, displayed improved speed while stretching to two turns in the Alcibiades, setting the pace for the first time in her four-race career. She was exiting a non-threatening second to Tommy Jo in the Spinaway.

“I thought if the (winning) margin had been a head or a neck, I could see it,” trainer Ben Colebrook said of the disqualification. “I probably disagree with it (the disqualification), but I have to go back and watch (a replay of the race), cool our heads. It’s disappointing.”

The Grumpy Rabbit finished about three lengths behind Tommy Jo in third. Go to Girl and Wonzee Weather came next in fourth and fifth, and Haute Diva trailed.

As part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series, the Alcibiades awarded the top five finishers points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale toward a berth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) next spring. It also served as a 'Win & You're In' for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar on Oct. 31.

Tommy Jo had already earned a free berth via the Spinaway, and Percy's Bar also will target the Juvenile Fillies.