Terranova removes blinkers, Stan the Man stops waiting, rallies to Tale of the Cat victory

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer John Terranova felt when Stan the Man made the lead in the Grade 2 True North Stakes two months ago at Belmont Park he started to wait on the competition. Ultimately, the Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire ran by Stan the Man, who had to settle for second.

That performance, coupled with a couple of lazy works in Saratoga, prompted Terranova to remove the blinkers from Stan the Man’s equipment entering Thursday’s $85,000 Tale of the Cat Stakes at Saratoga.

Terranova got the desired result as Stan the Man, last of five early under Joel Rosario, rallied five wide in the lane and outfinished his four rivals to win the six-furlong Tale of the Cat by 1 1/2 lengths. My Boy Tate finished second by a half-length over T Loves a Fight and Binkster, who dead-heated for third. Ready to Escape, the pacesetter, finished last.

Stan the Man, a 6-year-old gelding by Broken Vow, won for the seventh time in 24 starts. He has now won stakes from six furlongs to 1 1/8 miles.

“He’s a fun, versatile horse,” Terranova said.

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Stan the Man’s 6-year-old campaign got off to a rough start with double-digit length defeats in the Jazil and Stymie Stakes. Following a break induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, Stan the Man ran a strong second in the True North, but Terranova still felt there was more to get out of him.

Terranova said Stan the Man wasn’t engaging enough in the morning so he decided to remove the blinkers.

“He’s an older, smarter horse now, do what he wants, keep him happy,” Terranova said. “Six furlongs, yeah you want to be there but we thought it would be something to move forward off of if it worked. Sure did.”

Rosario had Stan the Man last, three lengths back and saving ground while Ready to Escape rushed to the front through a quarter in 22.28 seconds and a half-mile in 45.02 while being stalked by Binkster.

Coming into the lane, it seemed as everybody was moving simultaneously and Rosario had to swing Stan the Man widest of all. At the sixteenth pole, little separated the quintet before Stan the Man began to edge clear.

“I had the best horse in the race, I didn’t want to get [stuck] on the inside, I was looking to get in the clear,” Rosario said. “He finished really well.”

Stan the Man, owned by Long Lake Stable, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.47 and returned $3.90 as the odds-on choice.

Terranova said he didn’t know what would be next for Stan the Man, though he did say the horse prefers his races well-spaced. Given that, one option could be the Grade 2, $150,000 Kelso Handicap at Belmont Park on Oct. 3.