May 10 - It is always sad when a once great racehorse loses his or her form and is thus retired from the sport, the most recent example being multiple graded stakes winner Tale of Ekati, who was retired this week by his respected trainer, Barclay Tagg, after performing very poorly in his last three outings.

This year Tale of Ekati has failed to impress in all of his races, starting with February's $150,000 Richter Scale Stakes (Gr 2) at Gulfstream Park, in which he could only manage a fourth. Then earlier this month, he finished a dull eighth in the $300,000 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct Racecourse in New York.

And most recently, Tale of Ekati could only muster up a sixth place finish in the $100,000 Westchester Stakes at Belmont Park last weekend, sparking Tagg's tough decision to pull the four-year-old stallion from the racing scene. The trainer said that the thoroughbred seems to have lost his competitive edge.

In the Westchester Stakes, Tagg was hoping that fitting the colt with blinkers would help him run better - it did not. The trainer was quoted before the race, 'He's not been running the way I like, and I don't know why. I've had every vet go over him, every guru, every expert and no one can find anything wrong.'

On Thursday morning Tale of Ekati was transported from Belmont Park to Darby Dan Farm in Kentucky, where he'll remain until his connections have finalized his stallion prospects. Owned and bred by Canadian geologist Charles Fipke, Tale of Ekati managed to chalk up four notable victories in his career.

These include victories in the Futurity Stakes (Gr 2) in 2007, the Wood Memorial Stakes (Gr 1) in 2008, the Cigar Mile Handicap (Gr 1) in 2008 and the Jerome Handicap (Gr 2) in 2008. Sired by Tale of the Cat out of Silence Beauty, 5 wins from 15 starts earned the gutsy colt $1,182,992 in purses.

Said Tagg, 'Everybody said he's just a miler, but he did win a Gr 1 at a mile and an eighth and he was fourth in the Kentucky Derby at a mile and a quarter. To me there's no doubt that he's a superior stallion prospect. His breeding goes back to God. He's got tremendous breeding male side and female side.'

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2011/12/09 12:48:58 AM