Favorite Tale Upsets Champion Work All Week
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Jockey Edgard J. Zayas and Favorite Tale got a quick jump out of the gate and never looked back to upset reigning champion sprinter Work All Week by 4 1/4 lengths in the Smile Sprint Stakes (gr. II) on the July 5 Summit of Speed card at Gulfstream Park.
A 4-year-old gelded son of Tale of the Cat trained by Guadalupe Preciado for PJG Stable, Favorite Tale cut fractions of :21.84 and :44.09 for the half-mile while being tracked by Wildcat Red, the 2014 Besilu Stakes Fountain of Youth (gr. II) winner.
Work All Week, the 2014 Xpressbet Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) winner who went off at 4-5 odds, took over second rounding the turn in the six-furlong sprint as Favorite Tale took a 1 1/2-length advantage heading into the stretch. Favorite Tale stopped the timer in :55.98 for five furlongs and continued to pull away in the stretch. The final time was 1:08.85, not far off the track record of 1:08.12 set by Big Drama on Jan. 15, 2011.
The start was delayed after Falling Sky, with Edgar Prado aboard, broke through the gate and had to be reloaded.
Favorite Tale paid $17, $6.60, and $4.60, with Work All Week, who conceded four pounds to the winner, worth $2.80 and $2.40 and Wildcat Red paying $3.60. Grande Shores, winner of the Parrot Key Stakes previous to the Smile Sprint, finished fourth.
The order was completed by Alsvid, City of Weston, Ledokol, Falling Sky, and Singanothersong.
The Smile Sprint was a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win & You're In" race earning Favorite Tale an all-expenses paid starting berth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Preciado said the owners of Favorite Tale had wanted to run him in the Breeders' Cup last year, but it would have been a costly proposition since he was not eligible for the World Championships.
"We wanted to win one to get into the Breeders' Cup," the conditioner said. "Now we need to figure out how to get there. We have easier races for him now at Parx Racing because he's Pennsylvania-bred. It's not big money but we can keep him in good shape. We don't need to kill him against the big horses before the big race.
"This track is fast and it's good for this type of horse. For this race, he was doing unbelievable and you couldn't ask him to go better than the way he did it. We gave him all winter off. He's a gelding and hopefully we keep him running for a few years."
"It was great," jockey Zayas said. "I sent him all the way until I got the lead, and he's a horse that once it gets a lead he will keep on going. (Trainer Preciado) just told me to have a good break and to extend the lead. Today was a special day."
Owner Richard Papiese said Work All Week sustained an injury when Falling Sky broke through the gate.
"(Jockey Florent Geroux) said when the horse inside him (Falling Sky) broke through the gate (Work All Week) actually smashed his face," Papiese said. "He's bleeding. No excuses, but it's not a good thing."
Bred in Pennsylvania by Paul Conaway, Favorite Tale has won or placed in 10 of 14 starts, with earnings of $551,626. His six victroies include the Gallant Bob Stakes (gr. III) at Parx Racing and Gold Fever Stakes at Belmont Park last year. Previous to the Smile Sprint, Favorite Tale finished fifth in the True North Stakes (gr. II) at Belmont June 5 while carrying 124 pounds.