In his 13th start of the year, late-running Bon Raison upsets Tale of the Cat Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The connections of Bon Raison are not bashful when it comes to running their horse. Friday’s $100,000 Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga was Bon Raison’s 13th start of the year.

Trainer Carlos Martin said that owner Peter Tournas, who races under the name Empire State Thoroughbreds, which owns Bon Raison, believes “if the horse is doing good we don’t need to breeze him, we just need to run him,” Martin said.

Friday, Tournas and Martin were rewarded for their perseverance as Bon Raison rallied from last under Irad Ortiz Jr. to win the Tale of the Cat Stakes by three-quarters of a length over He Hate Me. The result was a reversal of the finish of a third-level allowance here on July 19 when He Hate Me beat Bon Raison by 2 1/4 lengths.

In that race, He Hate Me stalked the pace before taking over and easily holding off Bon Raison, who rallied from last.

Friday, He Hate Me was part of an early five-horse pace battle while Bon Raison - who actually broke on top - settled behind that quintet down the backside.

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Favored He Hate Me and Pat On the Back - separated by $881 in the wagering - edged away from the other three pace factors, running a half-mile in 45.15 seconds. At the eighth pole, He Hate Me began to edge away. But, Bon Raison, four-wide in the lane, collared He Hate Me late to get the victory, his fifth this year, and ninth overall.

Bon Raison, a 4-year-old son of Raison d’Etat, covered six furlongs in 1:09.34 and returned $18.60 as the longest price in the six-horse field. He Hate Me was second by 2 3/4 lengths over Pat On the Back, who was followed by Killybegs Captain, Ruler of the Nile, and Skyler’s Scramjet. Uno Mas Modelo and Eight Town both scratched.

Though Bon Raison broke on top, Ortiz said the horse dropped back on his own, which he was quite comfortable with after he saw how the race was unfolding.

“They are fighting, that was good for me,” Ortiz said. “I just wait, wait, wait as long as I can. I know my horse always responds in the end so I save my run and it worked out good.”

Martin won his first Saratoga stakes since Megapixel captured the Van Raalte Stakes in 2008. Coincidentally, Megapixel was by Tale of the Cat.
“Irad was so comfortable with him and when he made that run I knew he was going to come strong, I just wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to catch He Hate Me,” Martin said. “Then Irad really, really rode him strong.”

Martin said he expects Tournas to nominate Bon Raison to the Grade 1 Forego here on Aug. 24 and he will evaluate the horse before deciding whether or not to run in that race.