Always Sunshine finishes strong in Saratoga's Tale of the Cat
Always Sunshine ran down My Boy Tate in the stretch, overtaking his challenger from the outside to win the fifth running of the $100,000 Tale of the Cat for 3-year-olds and up on Friday at Saratoga Race Course.
Owned by Stonehedge and trained by Ned Allard, Always Sunshine won his second consecutive stakes start overall and earned a trip to the winner's circle in his Spa debut, besting a five-horse field by two lengths in completing six furlongs in 1:09.79 on the main track labeled fast.
Off at 5-2, Always Sunshine stayed just off Silver Ride and My Boy Tate, who set the early fractions of a quarter-mile in 22.52 seconds and the half in 45.14. Out of the turn, jockey Frankie Pennington used a right-handed whip to urge Always Sunshine from the four-path with My Boy Tate directly to his inside and Silver Ride contending from the rail.
Always Sunshine kept pushing and gained command in the final furlong, improving to 2-2-1 in his last six starts at the Tale of the Cat distance.
"He was doing it nice and easy. When I asked him, he was there for me and I knew he was going to finish up good," said Pennington, who won his first career race at Saratoga. "He's an unbelievable horse. It seems like whatever track you put him on he gives it all which makes it easier for me. This is my first win in Saratoga and for it to be a stakes race, you couldn't ask for anything better than this."
"He's a horse with a lot of talent and it seems like if you time him right, he's kind of a dangerous racehorse," Allard said. "I was real pleased with his effort. I thought he kicked real hard the last part of it, and that's when it counts.
My Boy Tate, who entered with a five-race winning streak for trainer Michelle Nevin, finished 1 ¼ lengths in front of Silver Ride for second. Pop the Hood and Mr. Crow completed the order of finish.