Favorite Tale breaks long dry spell in Dave's Friend Stakes
Favorite Tale and Struth turned the $100,000 Dave's Friend Stakes on Monday at Laurel Park into a match race, and when the dust cleared, 7-year-old Favorite Tale had won his first race since November 2015.
The third-place finisher in the Breeders' Cup Sprint that fall, Favorite Tale injured a knee while making his first start of 2016. He didn’t race again until this September when he finished a hard-trying second against Pennsylvania-breds in the Banjo Picker Stakes at Parx.
Trainer Lupe Preciado jumped him up in class for his next start, the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland, but he tired after showing brief speed and finished seventh. In his start prior to the Dave's Friend, Favorite Tale finished second, beaten a half-length, in the $200,000 Fabulous Strike at Penn National, the same race he won to conclude his 2015 campaign.
Favorite Tale, a son of Tale of the Cat, was bred and is owned by the PJG Stable of Paul Conaway. He is stabled at Parx with Preciado, who has trained him throughout his career.
"It's been a long way back," Conaway said after the Dave's Friend.
Favorite Tale is now 9 for 23 in his career. The $60,000 he earned in the Dave's Friend pushed his earning to more than $1 million.
Favorite Tale went right to the lead in the six-furlong race under jockey Frankie Pennington. He was joined from the outside on the far turn by Struth and the pair battled until inside the final sixteenth before Favorite Tale edged away to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
He was timed in a rapid 1:08.93 and paid $15.20 as the sixth choice in a competitive 10-horse field.
"When Struth came to his outside he was game," Pennington said. "That's what he wanted, and he fought it out."
Great Stuff finished well but belatedly to be third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Struth. It was another length back to 17-1 Shivarelli, who was never far back.
Afleet Willy, the 5-2 favorite, was bumped both sides at the start. He launched a wide middle move on the far turn but tired to finish eighth.