[5] His sire (father) is Tapit, a gray son of Pulpit, who won the Wood Memorial Stakes and started second favorite for the 2004 Kentucky Derby.

[6] Tonalist's dam (mother), Settling Mist, a daughter of the Kentucky Derby winner Pleasant Colony, won once from nineteen starts in 2002 and 2003.

[7] As a great-granddaughter of the broodmare (a mare used for breeding) Missy Baba, Settling Mist was closely related to several major winners including Summer Squall, A.P.

[8] As a yearling, Tonalist was consigned to the Fasig-Tipton Sale in August 2012, by Wayne and Cathy Sweezey on behalf of Woodlane Farm's owners, Rene and Lauren Woolcott.

Any chance he had of competing in the major trials for the Triple Crown ended when he contracted a lung infection which disrupted his training schedule.

Clement professed his lack of concern when Tonalist was drawn on the complete outside of the eleven runner field, saying "He's a really, really big horse with a long stride, so he can basically run his own race without worrying about anybody else.

He maintained his position despite being forced four wide on the final turn and gradually wore down the opposition in the straight to win by a head from Commissioner, with Medal Count in third and California Chrome dead heating with Wicked Strong for fourth.

Moreno was disqualified from fourth to last for cutting in and clipping heels with Wicked Strong,[20] resulting in the fall of his jockey, Rajiv Maragh, who suffered a broken arm.

[21] In the thirty-first running of the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on November 1, Tonalist started the 4.4/1 joint second choice in the betting, behind Shared Belief and alongside California Chrome.

Rosario held the colt up at the back of the fourteen runner field in the early stages and although Tonalist made steady progress in the second half of the race he never looked likely to threaten the leaders and finished fifth, five length behind the winner Bayern.

"[22] On 6 June, Tonalist started the 1.7/1 favorite for the Metropolitan Handicap over a mile at Belmont, facing a field which included Bayern, Wicked Strong and Honor Code.

Four weeks later, Tonalist carried top weight of 123 pounds in the Suburban Handicap and started 9/20 favorite but was beaten a head into second by the James Jerkens-trained Effinex.

The colt was the beaten favorite for the third time in succession when he contested the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga on August 8: on this occasion he finished strongly after trailing the field for most of the way to take third behind Honor Code and Liam's Map.

On October 3, after an eight-week break, Tonalist attempted to repeat his 2014 success in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and started favorite ahead of five opponents including Effinex, Wicked Strong and Constitution (Donn Handicap).

Owner Robert Evans said at the time of Tonalist's retirement that the horse was still sound and he was planning to race him in 2016, but "the economic pressures make it hard to keep him in training.