Grade I winner Wild Dude got within a head of front-running Appealing Tale in the stretch of the $250,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes (gr. II) Aug. 22 at Del Mar, but the pacesetter re-rallied on the rail to secure his first graded victory. Watch Video
Gary and Cecil Barber’s Appealing Tale, a 5-year-old Tale of the Cat gelding, had finished second in his past three graded stakes tries, including a tough-luck second to Catch a Flight in the San Diego Handicap (gr. II) last time out.
“This is the fourth time I’ve ridden this horse and he just shows up every time,” winning jockey Joe Talamo said. “He’s so game. …When (Wild Dude) came to me in the stretch, he fought back. He fought him off.”
The Peter Miller trainee maintained about a length lead through the turn of the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien, setting fractions of :23.34 and :45.62 through a half mile.
“When I felt that first quarter, I was smiling,” Talamo said.
Challenged by Wild Dude to his outside after six furlongs in 1:09.28, Appealing Tale proved up to the task. He would reach the wire at 1:21.40, a half-length ahead of Wild Dude. Indexical finished third, 3 1/2 lengths back, and Kobe’s Back came in last of four after breaking slowly. The order did not change from start to finish.
“We had a good trip today—right where we wanted to be,” Wild Dude’s jockey, Flavien Prat said. “My horse fought on. He tried hard, but the winner got us. We had to give him four pounds. That didn’t help.”
The win punches Appealing Tale’s ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (gr. I) through the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series. Wild Dude, with his win last time out in the Bing Crosby stakes (gr. I) also earned a spot in the TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint (gr. I).
“He’s such a fighter, this horse,” Miller said. “He loves a dogfight and when they came up next to him, I knew he wouldn’t give up. We’re pointing for the Dirt Mile. He’s such a game horse and he can go anywhere from seven-eighths to a mile and a sixteenth, so a mile is right in his wheelhouse.”
Favored at 6-5, the winner paid $4.40 and $2.60. Wild Dude brought $2.60 to place. There was no show wagering offered after the scratch of Turnover, which cut the field to four horses.
Bred in Kentucky by Hart Farm out of the Unbridled’s Song mare Appealing Bride, Appealing Tale has a 5-6-6 record from 24 career starts with $533,222 in earnings.
Courtesy of The Bloodhorse
