Stan the Man swings big bat in Tale of the Cat Stakes
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When it came to Thursday’s $85,000 Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga, trainer John Terranova’s biggest concern was not who the competition would be for his graded stakes-placed Stan the Man, but whether there would be enough of it to get the race to fill. In the end, a field of only five horses was entered for the 6 1/2-furlong Tale of the Cat, three of whom were not on the original nomination list and must fork over an additional $1,000 fee to start.
Stan the Man is coming off a second-place finish behind Firenze Fire in the Grade 2 True North on June 27 at Belmont Park and as a result will be heavily favored to win the Tale of the Cat, for 4-year-olds and up who have never won a graded stakes.
Stan the Man, a winner of 3 of 6 starts last year, began his current campaign with a pair of disappointing efforts at Aqueduct in the 1 1/8-mile Jazil and one-mile Stymie before rebounding in a big way when turning back to 6 1/2 furlongs in the Grade 2 True North.
“We came up here with this race in mind, and I was worried when I heard they only had four horses in the entry box for a long while,” Terranova said. “I don’t know who they got to make it five, but I’m grateful they did. He had a couple of off races earlier in the year before things got shut down that kind of had us scratching our heads. Then we cut him back for the True North, and he showed up and ran a big race.”
Stan the Man raced with blinkers in his first 23 starts, but will not wear them for the first time in the Tale of the Cat.
“I’ve breezed him from time to time without blinkers and he’s always gone well,” Terranova said. “His first two works up here with blinkers were kind of lazy, so I thought maybe it was time to make a change. I took them off for his last work and he went fantastic. He’s 6 years old now and as smart and honest as can be. I know this is the right spot for him, and if he runs back to his last race we should be in good shape here.”
:: DRF's Saratoga headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more
Ready to Escape is the only other member of the field on the original nomination list for the Tale of the Cat. Ready to Escape exits a third-place finish under high-priced allowance and optional-claiming conditions here four weeks earlier and will get a jockey switch to Kendrick Carmouche on Thursday.
T Loves a Fight, My Boy Tate, and Binkster are the three supplemental nominees to the race.
T Loves a Fight and My Boy Tate return to open company after finishing second and third behind the Terranova-trained Funny Guy in the John Morrissey for New York-breds on July 30. T Loves a Fight is winless in his last seven starts dating back to an allowance victory last fall at Bemont Park. My Boy Tate is a three time New York-bred stakes winner who also is seeking his first win of the season.