Tale of Silence Upsets Westchester Stakes
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Tale of Silence (inside) edges a trio of challengers to win the Westchester Stakes at Belmont Park
The weekend of the 144th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was anything but memorable for two of the previous year's classic winners.
One day after 2017 Kentucky Derby victor Always Dreaming finished fifth in the Alysheba Stakes presented by Sentient Jet (G2) at Churchill Downs, Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Cloud Computing made his 4-year-old debut May 5 and also finished unplaced in a graded stakes, albeit in a much more competitive and promising effort.
After he made a strong bid for the lead on the far turn, Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence's Cloud Computing weakened in the final furlong, as an eight-month layoff caught up with trainer Chad Brown's 4-year-old. The even-money favorite wound up fourth, but was beaten by only two noses and a head, as 12-1 shot Tale of Silence prevailed in a blanket finish to capture the $200,000 Westchester Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park.
The Westchester was the first start for the son of Maclean's Music since he had chips removed from his right front ankle a month after he came in eighth in the Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) Aug. 26.
"He broke nicely on the inside and I just waited, because the pace was slow. Then at the five-sixteenths pole, I moved him outside and he started gaining ground on his own," jockey Manny Franco said about Cloud Computing, who is now unplaced in three starts since he won last year's middle jewel of the Triple Crown. "I thought he was going to win, but then he started to lay in a bit on the horse inside of him and tired a bit."
Turning for home the Westchester looked like a duel between Cloud Computing and Tommy Macho, who had a half-length lead at the quarter pole, inside of the Preakness winner. But in the final furlong of the one-turn mile stakes they were joined on the outside by Vulcan's Forge and in the final strides by Tale of Silence from the rail. As the four horses neared the wire, Cloud Computing dropped back a bit and Tale of Silence ($26.60) surged to stick his nose in front at the wire under jockey Dylan Davis.
"I was inching him along and just using him (on the turn). Turning for home there was a big gap down on the inside and he shot right through it. He paid it no mind. He knew what he had to do today," Davis said.
Vulcan's Forge finished second by a nose over Tommy Macho, who was a head in front of Cloud Computing.
The final time for the mile was 1:36.14.
The Westchester marked the first stakes win for Chuck Fipke's Kentucky homebred, whose previous victories came in a maiden race in September of 2016 at Belmont and an allowance race in April of 2017. Prior to a third in an optional-claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park in his last start March 9, he finished third behind Tommy Macho and Conquest Big E (who came in last of five in Westchester) in the Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream for trainer Barclay Tagg.
"He's never had a bad problem or anything like that, but he likes this track. He likes the big, wide turn. I don't think he likes tight turns. One mile, one turn is his game, and this track is so big, he's got a lot of freedom," Tagg said.
A son of Tale of the Cat , out of the Sunday Silence mare Silence Beauty, Tale of Silence notched his third win in 15 starts and the winner's purse of $120,000 pushed his earnings to $376,272.