| Age | Starts | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Earnings | |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | $313,200 |
|
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $556,000 |
|
At 2: 1– Futurity S. (G2), 2– Sanford S. (G2)
At 3: 1– Wood Memorial S. (G1)
Last Start
Second in Sanford S. (G2) on July 26 at Saratoga
Contender Status
Tale of Ekati, who won his maiden debut at Belmont Park on July 7 by 8 1/4-lengths, looked like a rising young star after finishing a troubled second to Ready's Image in the Sanford Stakes (G2) on July 26 at Saratoga Race Course in only his second start.
But the Tale of the Cat colt came out of the Sanford with bucked shins that cost training time and didn't get back to the track until September 15 for Belmont's Futurity Stakes (G2).
Trainer Barclay Tagg blistered the shins to increase circulation and after some light training he was back on the work tab preparing for the Futurity. His performance in the race reaffirmed his rising young star credentials.
After hitting the gate at the start and breaking last, Tale of Ekati lacked racing room for most of the race until jockey Eibar Coa finally found a hole on the rail in the stretch to charge down the lane and relegate two-time graded stakes winner Kodiak Kowboy to second.
"He was very professional and really helped me out," Coa said. "I was in trouble the whole race, being trapped inside. He was patient with me and didn't get stupid. As soon as he came through, I knew he had it."
Tagg has been high on Tale of Ekati since he first got him to the track, and his enthusiasm was certainly justified in the Futurity.
"He came back after his last race with some sore shins," Tagg explained about the time off. "We gave him some time to freshen him up. He came back well in his workouts. I'm with him all day, every day, and you can really tell when a horse is coming to himself."
Tagg, who has never had a juvenile in the Breeders' Cup, indicated he would probably train Tale of Ekati up to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
October 22 - Four furlongs handily in :45.79 at Belmont Park, track fast. Best of 48 workouts at the distance.
October 16 - One mile breezing in 1:43.00 at Monmouth Park, track fast. Best of two workouts at the distance.
October 10 - Five furlongs breezing in 1:03.26 at Belmont Park, track sloppy. Second best of two workouts at the distance.
October 4 - Five furlongs breezing in 1:01.21 at Belmont Park, track fast. Third best of 11 workouts at the distance.
September 26 - Four furlongs breezing in :49.82 at Belmont Park, track fast. 20th best of 30 workouts at the distance.
September 11 - Five furlongs breezing in 1:01.17 at Belmont Park, track wet fast. Best of six workouts at the distance.
Trainer Barclay Tagg, before getting the official time for Tale of Ekati's October 22 workout of :45.79 for four furlongs:
"He went way too fast. I don't know exactly what it was, but I had him in under 46. We'll just take it easy with him the rest of the week."