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By Bill Mooney
By Bill Mooney
CHESTER, W. VA.
Usually, not much notice is made of a 3-year-old heading for a major stakes with only a maiden win on his career resume.
But the situation’s different with Tale of Verve, who will go to the post in Saturday’s Grade 2, $750,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.
It took the colt six tries to break his maiden, which Tale of Verve did at the 13/16-mile distance at Keeneland on April 23.
His next start came in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 16. Most handicappers did not give Tale of Verve a chance to hit the board. But at odds of 28-1, he finished second. The only horse to finish ahead was American Pharoah, who was on his way to a Triple Crown sweep.
Weather conditions may have factored in. Heavy rain hit Pimlico as the Preakness contenders were being saddled, and the main track quickly became a swamp. But this didn’t seem to hinder American Pharoah’s performance, or the one put on by Tale of Verve.
The latter was last in the eight-horse field, trailing by 17 lengths at one point of the race. Aside from the winner, though, Tale of Verve was the only competitor doing some serious running at the end of the race. American Pharoah won by seven lengths, but Tale of Verve still picked up a lucrative runner-up’s check of $300,000.
Trainer Dallas Stewart voiced no amazement — he knew that Tale of Verve could hold his own at the top level of his division, Stewart said (or words to that effect), and that the more the colt matured, the better he would be.
Tale of Verve’s next start came in the Belmont Stakes on June 6. At odds of 19-1 he finished a distant seventh in the eight-horse field. The Equibase chart caller noted that Tale of Verve “failed to respond when asked [by jockey Gary Stevens] departing the backstretch . . . and retreated [during the stretch run].” He never was a factor at any point of call.
Maybe a jockey switch had something to do with it. Certain riders, even ones with Hall of Fame credentials, don’t partner well with certain horses. Joel Rosario booted Tale of Verve to his maiden score and Preakness placing. Stevens was aboard in the Belmont — he had never ridden Tale of Verve in a race before.
Churchill Downs is Tale of Verve’s home base, and Stewart has been working him steadily there in preparation for the West Virginia Derby since late June. The morning clockers report that Tale of Verve looks energetic. His career stats include eight starts, a win, four placings and purse earnings of $389,640 – the bulk of which was gained in the Preakness.
The colt campaigns for the man who bred him, Charles E. Fipke, a Canadian diamond mining magnate, who also raced Tale of Verve’s sire, Tale of Ekati. A Grade 2 winner at age 2 and a multiple Grade 1 winner at age 3, Tale of Ekati has sire-dam crosses of Northern Dancer, Nijinsky II, and Mr. Prospector in his pedigree.
Verve, the dam of Tale of Verve, was winless in 11 career starts. But she is a daughter of Unbridled, who won the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic, and was North America’s champion 3-year-old in 1990. There’s nothing lacking in Tale of Verve’s family tree.
Tale of Verve’s running style is that of what racing people term “a deep closer.” With the exception of the Belmont, he has made up ground from the half-mile pole onward in all his career starts. Just how good is he? At this point, that’s hard to assess. Perhaps that question will be answered on West Virginia Derby Day.
Probable starters in the race include: the Grade 2 Peter Pan winner Madefromlucky; the Grade 3 Iowa Derby winner Bent on Bourbon; the multiple stakes winner Super Colossal; and the Grade 3 Pegasus Stakes runner-up Tekton.
Possible starters include the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes winner Far Right; the multiple Grade 2-placed War Story; and the multiple Grade 3-placed Private Prospect.