photo: nancy rokos

Tale of Ekati training May 10th at Belmont.

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.

Go here for more photo's

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

Big Truck wins Tampa Derby


photo: nancy rokos

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.