Tale of Ekati 4th in Derby

Full chart here.

Works for Tale of Ekati.

Ron Mitchell, The Blood-Horse 4/29/2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With four days to go to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), only two classic contenders worked at Churchill Downs on the morning of Tuesday, April 29.

Charles Fipke’s homebred Tale of Ekati was out early, working a half-mile in :49 2/5 as the morning dawned on a cool overcast day.

Tale of Ekati (Photo by: Coglianese Photography)

Trainer Barclay Tagg, who saddled Funny Cide to win the 2003 Derby, said he did not want to do anything special with the son of Tale of the Cat considering how close it was to Derby Day.

“I just him to go a nice half-mile, nothing dramatic,” said the quiet Tagg. “He went fine.”

Tagg said he plans to stick to routine regimens for Tale of Ekati and Derby-bound stablemate Big Truck for the restd of the week. “You don’t change anything; you do the same old routine. There is nothing fancy about. It’s a horse race. You bring them up to it the best you can.”

Winner of the Futurity Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont Park as a 2-year-old, Tale of Ekati won the grade I Wood Memorial in his third start of 2008. He has won half of his lifetime starts for earnings of $667,200.

Big Truck motors over Churchill track

Ron Mitchell, The Blood-Horse 4/28/2008

In what trainer Barclay Tagg described as a “perfect” work, Big Truck zipped five furlongs in :59 2/5 at Churchill Downs on Monday, April 28, in preparation for the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). The move by the son of Hook and Ladder was the fastest of the day among 22 horses working the distance.

“It was just what I wanted,” said a relaxed Tagg, who won the 2003 Derby with Funny Cide. “He went the half-mile in :48 and went to the wire in :59 2/5. Big Truck is a gorgeous mover. Anybody who has ever gotten on him said it’s like floating on a cloud.”

Tagg, who is also pointing Tale of Ekati toward the 1 ¼-mile Derby, said his two contenders are different in how they move but they have similarities in they “both have good, strong finishes. They keep digging. I like that quality in a racehorse. Both are pretty nice horses.”

With three wins in eight starts, Big Truck won the Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III) before finishing 11th of 12 in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I), contested over the artificial Polytrack surface at Keeneland. Although he did not want to criticize the track, Tagg said it was obvious Big Truck did not like it and he is throwing out the race as an indicator of Big Truck’s readiness for the Derby.

“Big Truck seemed to work well over that track, but in the afternoon it just got to him,” Tagg said.

When post positions are drawn Wednesday, Tagg said he would prefer a position between four and eight. “I am not like everybody else who wants the outside. I hope I don’t get it. I don’t want the rail either.”

Tagg said he just wanted his horses to stay sound and healthy the remainder of the week.

Tale of Ekati breezes in 1:00 1/5

Lenny Shulman, The Blood-Horse 4/23/2008

Charles Fipke’s Tale of Ekati took advantage of a perfect Central Kentucky spring morning at Keeneland on Wednesday to breeze five furlongs in 1:00 1/5, the only work by a potential Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) starter on the day in Lexington.

Trainer Barclay Tagg said he was pleased with the move, and planned to ship the Wood Memorial (gr. I) winner to Churchill Downs Saturday. His final breeze before the Derby is slated for Tuesday. Tale of Ekati also won the Futurity Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont Park last year.

4/17/2008

Tale of Ekati worked a half-mile in :49.20 at Keeneland on Thursday. Barclay described the move as “a little maintenance work after his race.”

Tale of Ekati upset champion War Pass in the April 5 Wood Memorial (gr. I) in his last start, and currently ranks third on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) graded stakes earnings list with $738,000. Tagg confirmed that Eibar Coa will have the mount May 3 at Churchill Downs.

Barclay also said that Big Truck continues to be pointed toward a Derby start despite a disappointing 11th-place finish in the April 12 Toyota Blue Grass (gr. I). The Hook and Ladder colt, winner of the March 15 Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III), sits in 20th position on the graded stakes earnings list. He would be ridden by Javier Castellano in the Derby.

Tale of Ekati Wins the Wood Memorial.

photo's: nancy rokos

Claire Novak, The Blood-Horse 4/5/2008

Charles Fipke’s homebred Tale of Ekati may have turned in a sub-par effort in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II), but he sparkled at Aqueduct when he ran down War Pass in the final strides of the $750,000 Wood Memorial (gr. I) on Saturday.

The Barclay Tagg trainee came off a questionable performance after running sixth behind Pyro at Fair Grounds March 8, but Tagg blamed the result on a poor start and had confidence in his starter, even if the betting public did not.

“He actually broke a little slow in all of his races, but in the Louisiana Derby he got tangled up in the gate and it cost him the race,” Tagg said. “He’s a better horse than that.”

Sent off at odds of 8-1 in the Wood, the Tale of the Cat colt got a solid stalking trip behind the pacesetting 4-5 favorite War Pass, who was pressed through a blistering early quarter in :22.46 by the Bill Mott-trained Inner Light. Giant Moon ran third and Tale of Ekati stalked along in fourth. They went the half in :46.07 with Tale of Ekati moving up to third, tracked by Texas Wildcatter.

After three quarters in 1:11.50, jockey Edgar Prado moved Tale of Ekati up to second, chased by Giant Moon again. They ran a mile in 1:38.42 and War Pass hung on gamely in the final strides, but did not have enough to hold off an inside run from Tale of Ekati, who finished up with a solid run in the 1 1/8-mile event – proof that he should relish the longer distance of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). The final time was 1:52.35. Giant Moon, Anak Nakal, Spurrier, Roman Emperor, Texas Wildcatter, and Inner Light completed the order of finish.

“He’s a gem, that’s for sure,” Tagg said. “We’re ready to go on to Kentucky.”

Tale of Ekati paid $19, $6.30, and $3.60, while War Pass returned $3.70 and $2.60 under Cornelio Velasquez, and Court Vision brought $2.40 with Garrett Gomez.

Bred in Kentucky out of the Sunday Silence mare Silence Beauty, Tale of Ekati has won three races and owns a second from six starts. The Wood purse boosted his earnings to $769,200.

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AQUEDUCT
Saturday April 05, 2008 - Race 9
Wood Memorial S. - Grade: 1
Purse: $750,000
Distance/Restrictions: 1 1/8M, Dirt, 3 Year Olds, STAKES
Winning Time: 1:52.35

8 Tale of Ekati 19.00 6.30 3.60
5 War Pass 3.70 2.60
1 Court Vision 2.40

Times in 100ths: :22.46 :46.07 1:11.50 1:38.42 1:52.35

Unplaced horses listed in order of finish.
Also ran: Giant Moon, Anak Nakal, Spurrier, Roman Emperor, Texas Wildcatter, Inner Light
Scratched: First Commandment

Two give Tagg edge in Pan American H.

Mike Welsch, Daily Racing Form 4/4/2008

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Dave and Fracas, a pair of long-distance turf specialists, figure to give trainer Barclay Tagg the upper hand in Saturday's $150,000 Pan American Handicap at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/2-mile Grade 3 Pan Am drew a field of eight that also includes top contenders Drilling for Oil, Presious Passion and Ascertain.

Dave will share high weight of 117 pounds with Presious Passion while getting a little class relief after finishing sixth behind Einstein in the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf earlier in the meet. A 7-year-old son of Ends Well, Dave registered his most important victory by upsetting the Grade 2 Red Smith Handicap over a yielding Aqueduct course in November.

Fracas will be making his second start since coming to the United States from Ireland at the end of his 2007 campaign. A son of the English-bred stallion In the Wings, Fracas rallied from last to finish fourth, beaten 3 1/2 lengths, in the 1 1/8-mile Mervin Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap on March 8 at Fair Grounds.

Fracas turned in some strong performances last year in his native Ireland, including a second-place finish under 136 pounds going 1 1/2 miles over yielding turf in the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes at Leopardstown.

"I think we're going into this race loaded for bear," said Robin Smullen, assistant to Tagg, who will be in New York on Saturday to saddle Tale of Ekati in the Wood. "The inside post killed Dave in his last start. He never puts out when he's on the inside, and he just couldn't get outside in that race."

Smullen thought Fracas turned in a strong effort despite finishing fourth in the Muniz.

"You really need to be into the race a lot earlier over the Fair Grounds turf than this one, especially going a mile and one-eighth," said Smullen. "In fact, we were surprised he dropped back so far, which is why we're putting a little set of blinkers on him Saturday, to help keep him focused.

"I promise he'll be closer to the pace this time."

Smullen is also hoping for a little help from Mother Nature as well.

"A few showers won't hurt us either," Smullen said.

Big Truck wins Tampa Derby


Claire Novak, The Blood-Horse 3/15/2008

Trainer Barclay Tagg had prophetic words of wisdom for jockey Eibar Coa before he sent Eric Fein’s Big Truck to the $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III).

“I said, ‘Ride to be second, and if something happens to War Pass, we win,’” Tagg told reporters just moments after the Hook and Ladder colt wore down Todd Pletcher trainee Atoned in a neck-and-neck battle Saturday. “I thought we were the second-best horse.”

Tagg, of course, was deferring to Robert LaPenta’s unbeaten War Pass, sent off at odds of 1-9 in a field of seven and clearly expected by the on-track crowd of 12,746 to score his seventh consecutive victory in the 1 1/6-mile event. But twisted circumstances put the Nick Zito trainee in a situation he’d never tried before; when a bad break caused the previously unbeaten frontrunner to get pinched back at the start, he never recovered and finished last.

“We hoped to get into position by the first turn, and when he didn’t break well it seemed like he wasn’t himself today,” LaPenta said following the race. “Hopefully he’s okay.”

"You saw what happened (at the break)," Zito said. "But he got moving and I thought he was in a good position going down the back, but when (Velasquez) asked him, nothing happened. I don't know what happened. I just don't know."

War Pass was restless in the gate and, after breaking fourth, was bumped as Gentleman James and Make Me Zach dueled for the early lead. Behind and between those two, he was unable to find running room and was hustled to maintain a position five-wide off the pace through early fractions of :23.73 and :47.44. Cigar Man raced fourth.

Big Truck rated fifth under Coa and Atoned was sixth, but began a move six wide while going three-quarters in 1:11.50. The field hit the head of the stretch with Atoned flying past Make Me Zach to claim the lead through a mile in 1:37.62. Big Truck was in close pursuit, and those two battled it down to the wire while longshot Dynamic Wayne got up for third and Make Me Zach faded to fourth.

“He trains like the best horse in the world, he just hasn’t proved it on the racetrack," Fein said. "Barclay (Tagg) has taken horses to the (Kentucky) Derby before, has won the Derby before, and has told us how good he is, but come race day he hasn’t proved it. So, thank God today he did. I actually started getting nervous at about the half-mile pole when I saw War Pass wasn’t on the lead. I though maybe today might be our day, and we were at the turn when we finally got out of the trouble we were in. We got clear, and I thought, ‘I know this horse can come.’”

Sure enough, Big Truck passed Atoned in the final 40 yards under strong handling to claim the victory by a neck. The final time was 1:44.25. Cigar Man, Gentleman James, and War Pass completed the order of finish.

Of War Pass, Velasquez said, "He just didn’t go today like he always has. At the half-mile he wanted to go to the lead but he just couldn’t go. Today he just didn’t try like he has in the past. I don’t know. He just stayed back and couldn’t take the lead. He did not run today; he’s a nice horse, but I don't think he liked the track."

Big Truck returned $16.40, $5.80, and $25.20. Atoned and jockey John Velazquez paid $6.60 and $27.80, while Dynamic Wayne and jockey Pablo Morales brought $76.40. The winning trifecta paid $439.20.

Bred in New York by A. Lakin & Sons out of the Go for Gin mare Just a Ginny, Big Truck came off a half-length loss to Fierce Wind in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Feb. 16. Dynamic Wayne was fourth in that event, while Bill Mott trainee Z Humor finished fifth. His lone stakes win came as a 2-year-old in the Bertram F. Bongard Stakes, a restricted event at Belmont. The colt’s record now stands at 3-1-1 from seven starts. His earnings total $336,880.

Of a potential trip to the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), Fein was enthusiastic.

"We hope this truck stops in Louisville," he said.

An education in the classics for Tagg

February 21, 2008
By Jay Privman
Daily Racing Form

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Five years ago, trainer Barclay Tagg won the Kentucky Derby with Funny Cide. Two years ago, he took another swing at the race with Showing Up. He then came back last year with Nobiz Like Shobiz. Before then, Tagg never focused on the Derby, believing he had square pegs for that round hole.

"I was always looking for a classic horse," Tagg said Tuesday morning at Gulfstream Park, "but I didn't think I had one until Funny Cide."

Funny Cide had finished second in the Wood Memorial to Derby favorite Empire Maker before winning the Derby. Showing Up won the Lexington Stakes in his final start before the Derby, while Nobiz Like Shobiz won the Wood. For Tagg to go to the Derby, his horses have to earn it. They're not barbarically forced into servitude. And this year, for the fourth time in six seasons, Tagg again finds himself with a chance to return to the Derby.

His barns in south Florida - here at Gulfstream Park, and 45 minutes north at the Palm Meadows training center - house several prospects, most notably Tale of Ekati, who last year won the Belmont Futurity and was fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. But while Tale of Ekati awaits his 3-year-old debut in next month's Louisiana Derby, Tagg will see if recent maiden winner Elysium Fields can step up to compete with the elite of the division when he runs on Sunday in the Grade 2, $350,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Elysium Fields and Tale of Ekati join Big Truck, the second-place finisher in last Saturday's Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, as Tagg's best Derby hopes. They strengthen a deep overall lineup for Tagg that includes Nobiz Like Shobiz, Showing Up, and the turf filly Bit of Whimsy. And for good measure, Funny Cide is still around at Gulfstream Park, plying his trade as a stable pony. He's the only Kentucky Derby winner still at a racetrack.

Elysium Fields, bred and owned by Robert Evans, was second in his first two starts last fall at Laurel, finished third at Calder on Dec. 29, then finally broke through in his fourth start against maidens with a runaway, eight-length victory at Gulfstream on Jan. 19. He added blinkers for that race, but Tagg thinks it is too simplistic to ascribe the improvement of Elysium Fields to that alone.

"He had never run a bad race," Tagg said. "I put the blinkers on him because I felt like he needed a little more focus. I don't like to cover them up too soon. They don't learn a whole lot with blinkers, how to tolerate having other horses around them. So I like to wait a few races. You never know. Anything can happen with 3-year-olds. You use your best judgment, what you're learned over 40 years.

"This horse, he's a nice, big horse. I didn't know how much quality he had. When you don't break your maiden your first two times at Laurel, you get a little suspicious. He really relaxed nicely in his last race. He's a lovely, lovely horse. He couldn't be any nicer."

And even though Elysium Fields is going from a maiden win into a stakes race against some of the best 3-year-olds on the East Coast, "I couldn't see denying him the chance," Tagg said.

Elysium Fields, by El Prado, is a bay colt with almost no marks, save for a small star on his forehead. Although he had worked quickly on Monday, he was quite snippy in his stall Tuesday at Gulfstream, acting like a sharp horse eager to compete.

Tagg will do his best to keep his Derby prospects separated. Tale of Ekati will race at Fair Grounds. He had been training at Gulfstream, but was moved to Palm Meadows, where "he's doing super," Tagg said. "He didn't seem to like this track down here, so why run him on it?"

Big Truck likely will return to Tampa Bay Downs for next month's Tampa Bay Derby, Tagg said.

"I don't know if he's Kentucky Derby material," Tagg said. "But he's a lovely, lovely horse and a good, beautiful mover. The Tampa Bay Derby makes sense. He shipped there, ran well, handled everything. To go somewhere else seems counterproductive."

Tagg's grass horses are being kept in reserve, but their time is growing near. Although Showing Up "is on the shelf again with a different ligament injury," Tagg said, Nobiz Like Shobiz and Bit of Whimsy are expected to make their first starts of the year in April at Keeneland. Nobiz Like Shobiz had a strong season on turf following the Kentucky Derby, and will remain on grass this year.

"I'd like to win a couple of Grade 1's on turf with him," he said. "That would enhance his stud value. He's already a Grade 1 winner on dirt. I think he's best suited to a mile or a mile and a sixteenth."

As usual, Tagg is seeking the perfect fit.