GALLANT BOB S. | PURSE: $300,000 | 3-YEAR-OLDS & UP | GRADE 3 | 6 1/2 FURLONGS
King's Bishop near-misser Fast Anna was bet down to 3-5 favoritism in Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 Gallant Bob at Parx, but locally based speedster Favorite Tale continued to be unbeatable at his home track. After vying with Fast Anna early, the Guadalupe Preciado trainee got the upper hand and kicked 2 1/2 lengths clear to remain perfect from four starts at Parx.
A homebred campaigned by Paul Conaway's PJG Stables, Favorite Tale was also capitalizing on his rail draw on a day that was favoring inside speed. The Tale of the Cat gelding, whose only prior stakes victory came in the May 4 Gold Fever at Belmont, was dispatched as the 7-2 second choice off a trio of stakes placings. He was a neck short when runner-up to Coup de Grace in the July 5 Oh Say at Delaware, and missed by the same margin when third to Pure Sensation in the grassy Quick Call at Saratoga July 24. He was most recently second, beaten three-quarters of a length, by Prudhoe Bay in the August 16 Jersey Shore at Monmouth, and gained revenge on his last two conquerors here.
Although Favorite Tale broke sharply with John Bisono, Fast Anna lived up to his name in the initial stages and zipped to a narrow advantage through a quarter-mile in :21 1/5. But Favorite Tale was glued alongside and soon put his head in front. Beginning to edge ahead through a half in :43 1/5 on a surface that was playing fast, Favorite Tale opened up by daylight down the stretch. He clocked :55 1/5 for the five-furlong split and completed six furlongs in 1:08.
Fast Anna held second by a diminishing neck from Bump Start, who was followed under the line by Pure Sensation, Prudhoe Bay, Good Bye Greg and the eased Camden Street.
Pure Sensation and Prudhoe Bay, however, were soon embroiled in the stewards' room. Paco Lopez, Prudhoe Bay's rider, claimed foul against Joel Rosario on Pure Sensation for an incident at the start. Pure Sensation took a left turn out of the gate, swiping Prudhoe Bay just to his inside. The stewards disallowed the claim and declared the result official as it stood.
Favorite Tale rewarded his fans with a $9 win payout and improved his own line to 10-5-2-1, $369,826. The Pennsylvania-bred began his career with a three-race winning spree at Parx this winter, crowned by a 14-length allowance romp March 24. Favorite Tale then tried New York and dropped two out of three. He bookended his aforementioned Gold Fever win (where he defeated Pure Sensation and Havana) with poor efforts in both the Bay Shore and Woody Stephens. Since then, the bay has been a model of consistency.
Favorite Tale was produced by the Grade 3-placed Tricky Elaine, a Grindstone half-sister to 1997 Horse of the Year and champion two-year-old colt Favorite Trick. Also in the family are Grade 2 queen Tizfiz and current Grade 3 scorer Fury Kapcori.