Awesome Banner, Favorite Tale Meet Up in Fire Plug

Multiple graded-stakes winning homebreds Awesome Banner and millionaire Favorite Tale will have their 10 rivals surrounded when they load in the gate for the $100,000 Fire Plug Stakes Jan. 20 at Laurel Park.

Jacks or Better Farm's Awesome Banner will make his 5-year-old debut in the six-furlong Fire Plug, and has been off since he finished fifth in the Fabulous Strike Nov. 22 at Parx Racing—behind Chief Lion, Favorite Tale, and Flashy Kyem, the top three finishers who all return in the Fire Plug.

The break appears to have served Awesome Banner well, as the son of Awesome of Course has posted a pair of bullet works at Laurel leading up to Saturday's race, most recently going five furlongs in :59 3/5 Jan. 9.

"He's doing pretty good. He's worked back a couple times since not being able to get in and his works have been pretty good over a racetrack that's been a little dead," said trainer Ken Decker. "We're looking forward to him getting back to his form."

Awesome Banner has six wins and $803,390 in purse earnings from 22 starts. He took the 2016 Hutcheson (G3) and Swale (G2) in the winter and a pair of Florida Sire Stakes in the fall of his 3-year-old campaign.

He went winless through 10 starts in 2017, but came in third by a half-length to Whitmore in the Maryland Sprint Stakes (G3), second to Imperial Hint in the Smile Sprint Stakes (G3) and El Deal in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1), and fell a nose short of Whitmore again in the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Stakes (G2).

"Through the summer and the fall, he's hooked some of the better sprinters in the country, and just got beat a couple times by horses that went to the Breeders' Cup," Decker said. "When things are good for him, he puts his best foot forward and they've got to outrun him when he goes in there. Hopefully we can get that win for him."

Breaking from the rail will be PJG Stable's Favorite Tale, who enters the Fire Plug just 12 days following his front-running 1 1/4-length win in the six-furlong Dave's Friend at Laurel.

BLOODHORSE STAFF: Favorite Tale Scores in Rescheduled Dave's Friend

            

It was just the fourth start in 22 months for the 7-year-old Tale of the Cat  gelding and first win since the 2015 Fabulous Strike. Favorite Tale won the the 2014 Gallant Bob (G3) and 2015 Smile Sprint, and came in third in both the Twinspires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) and Vanderbilt in 2015.

"I'm very proud of him. It's been a long way back. He finally got it done," said owner and breeder Paul Conaway. "We bred the horse (and) we own the mare, so we've had him since he was born. He's very special to us. He's family."

Entries: Fire Plug S.

Laurel Park, Saturday, January 20, 2018, Race 7

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 3:30 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Favorite Tale (PA)	Frankie Pennington	122	Guadalupe Preciado	6/1
2	2Someday Jones (PA)	Jorge A. Vargas, Jr.	120	John C. Servis	12/1
3	3Colonel Sharp (KY)	UNKNOWN	118	Hugh I. McMahon	30/1
4	4Do Share (KY)	Jevian Toledo	122	Linda Rice	3/1
5	5Two Charley's (KY)	Steve D. Hamilton	118	Cathal A. Lynch	20/1
6	6Life in Shambles (KY)	Feargal Lynch	120	Steven M. Asmussen	5/2
7	7Something Awesome (ON)	Elvis Trujillo	118	Jose Corrales	8/1
8	8Chief Lion (FL)	Sheldon Russell	122	David Jacobson	8/1
9	9Rockinn On Bye (MD)	Taylor M. Hole	118	Stephen M. Casey	12/1
10	10It's the Journey (MD)	Julian Pimentel	120	Michael J. Trombetta	15/1
11	11Flashy Kyem (PA)	Jomar Torres	118	Keith Nations	20/1
12	12Awesome Banner (FL)	J. D. Acosta	118	Kenneth Decker	20/1