Charles Fipke’s homebred Tale of Ekati may have turned in a sub-par effort during the Louisiana Derby (gr. II)(
VIDEO), but he sparkled at Aqueduct when he ran down War Pass in the final strides of the $750,000 Wood Memorial (gr. I) April 5.
The Barclay Tagg trainee came off a questionable performance after running sixth behind Pyro at Fair Grounds March 8, but Tagg blamed the finish 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.�?/DIV>
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.�?/DIV>
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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