Breeders' Cup Juvenile: Tale of S'avall's scratch opens spot for Siding Spring

LEXINGTON, Ky. - When Tale of S’avall missed a workout Sunday at Belmont Park due to sore feet, trainer Barclay Tagg held out some hope that he could still make Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile if things turned around quickly during the week in Kentucky.

That didn’t happen, and on Thursday, Tale of S’avall was officially scratched out of the Juvenile, according to Breeders’ Cup officials. Dr. Will Farmer, the chief veterinarian for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission called the scratch in to the stewards, said Dora Delgado, senior vice president of racing and operations for the Breeders’ Cup.

Tagg said he hopes he can have the horse ready to run in the Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct on Nov. 28.

Tagg canceled Tale of S’avall’s workout last Sunday because, he said, the horse had tender frogs, the bottom part of the horse’s foot that acts like a shock absorber.

Tale of S’avall shipped to Lexington on Monday. He jogged Tuesday and again Wednesday, this time over Keeneland’s synthetic training track. Wednesday night, Tagg said a specialist applied a special poultice on Tale of S’avall’s feet. There was improvement Thursday, but after a gallop over a sloppy main track later that morning, Tale of S’avall’s feet were sore again.

“After training today they were hurting,” Tagg said.

Tale of S’avall, a son of Tale of Ekati owned and bred by Charles Fipke, won a maiden race at Saratoga on Travers Day. He finished fifth in the Grade 1 Champagne run over a sloppy track at Belmont Park on Oct. 3.

Trainer Mark Casse is glad to get the chance to run Siding Spring, a son of Warrior’s Reward who has made his only two starts on turf. He won a one-mile maiden race at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 14 and then finished third to the Casse-trained Airoforce in the Grade 3 Bourbon at Keeneland. Casse loved the way Siding Spring worked on dirt at Churchill Downs last weekend, and though he was pre-entered for both the Juvenile and Juvenile Turf, he was only entered in the Juvenile. In case he didn’t get into the Juvenile, Casse had entered Siding Spring in Sunday’s Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Luis Saez is named to ride Siding Spring.

Tom’s Ready is still on the also-eligible list and would need an additional scratch by 8 a.m. Friday in order to get in.