Although he'll be facing some stakes winners when he makes the first stakes start of his career April 4 in the $300,000 Bay Shore (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack, Favorite Tale figures to receive plenty of attention off his string of victories at Parx Racing.
PJG Stable's Favorite Tale enters Saturday's seven-furlong Bay Shore off a 14-length score in an allowance race March 24 at Parx. With the win, the Pennsylvania-bred Tale of the Cat gelding improved to three wins in his first three starts.
Trainer Guadalupe Preciado is confident Favorite Tale will be able to handle the 12-day turnaround when he faces an expected field of seven other 3-year-olds in the Bay Shore.
"He didn't run that hard (in his previous race). He came back good, he's eating good, and he's training good," Preciado said. "I think he can run with any 3-year-old in the country. He hasn't even been asked yet."
Favorite Tale is 5-1 on the morning line.
Awaiting Favorite Tale will be West Coast-based Kobe's Back, who will return to sprinting after a seventh-place finish in the Rebel Stakes (gr. II) over a wet/fast track March 15 at Oaklawn Park. In his start before that, C R K Stable's Kobe's Back registered a 5 1/4-length score in the San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita Park, contested at the Bay Shore distance of seven furlongs. He is the 2-1 favorite in the Bay Shore.
"He hasn't done well in his distance races," said trainer John Sadler of the gray or roan son of Flatter. "I think he can run long, but he doesn't seem to relax. When he matures, we think (route racing) will be an option again, but for now he's best suited to sprinting.
"He came out of his last race in good shape. We wanted to get him back under a mile and having won two stakes, he's not really eligible for anything (in California)."
Also shipping in from California is The Admiral, pegged at 3-1 in his stakes bow for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The son of Giant's Causeway led all the way in tallying by half a length in a first-level allowance over 1 1/16 miles March 16 at Santa Anita, one month after breaking his maiden in a seven-furlong sprint.
Listed at 4-1 is Coup de Grace, looking to bounce back from his 10th in the Holy Bull Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 25. The Chad Brown-trained Tapit colt graduated in his racing debut at Aqueduct last November going six furlongs.
$300,000 Bay Shore Stakes (gr. III, race 8, approximate post time 4:35 p.m. EDT) 3YO, seven furlongs
PP, Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer, ML Odds
1. Charleymillionaire (NJ), I. Ortiz Jr., 116, G. Sacco, 30-1
2. Oliver Zip (KY), R. Maragh, 120, K. Breen, 10-1
3. Financial Mogul (KY), J. Ortiz, 116, R. Violette Jr., 8-1
4. Coup de Grace (KY), J. Castellano, 116, C. Brown, 4-1
5. Loki's Vengeance (NY), M. Franco, 116, M. Hushion, 15-1
6. Favorite Tale (PA), J. Flores, 116, G. Preciado, 5-1
7. The Admiral (KY), M. Garcia, 116, B. Baffert, 3-1
8. Kobe's Back (KY), C. Nakatani, 123, J. Sadler, 2-1