Silver Medallion, Tales in Excess score at Santa Anita

Silver Medallion gave trainer Steve Asmussen his first victory at Santa Anita (Benoit Photo) Santa Anita’s turf stakes for juveniles on Friday were all about firsts. Michael J. Ryan’s SILVER MEDALLION (Badge of Silver) made his first start for the Steve Asmussen barn a winning one in the $79,950 Eddie Logan S., becoming the first stakes winner for his freshman sire, and the first-ever Santa Anita winner for Asmussen. Awtrey and Dutton Stables’ homebred TALES IN EXCESS (Tale of the Cat) made her turf bow as the 4-5 favorite in the $80,300 Blue Norther S. and outdueled a game Wave of Applause (GB) (Royal Applause [GB]), recording her first stakes win. Silver Medallion, a half-brother to Grade 1-winning millionaire Sweet Talker (Stormin Fever), moved up to press the pace set by Robie the Cat (Distorted Humor) through honest splits of :23 1/5, :46 3/5 and 1:10 3/5. Putting Robie the Cat away and taking charge out of the far turn, Silver Medallion opened up by daylight in midstretch.

Then the late-running Ten Devils (Rock Hard Ten), part of the favored entry
with Robie the Cat at 4-5, erupted from the pack and posed a danger in deep
stretch. Silver Medallion answered Garrett Gomez’s every call, continuing to
find enough to preserve a half-length margin. Dispatched as the 5-1 third
choice, he reeled off the mile on firm turf in 1:35 3/5 and returned $12.60,
$4.80 and $3.20.

“We’ve got a lot of good horses beaten here, so any win right now feels
good,” assistant trainer Scott Blasi said. “This is a nice colt Mike Ryan sent
us for a winter run on the grass. He’s trained well, and he ran like we thought
he would. I thought he’d be pretty sharp. I was a little worried. We missed a
lot of training here with the rain and such. I was worried he’d be a little
fresh.”

“He’s a little goofy,” Gomez said of Silver Medallion. “He’s a difficult
horse, and Scotty’s been working with him. Mentally, he’s just not there yet,
but it’s nice to know that a horse is this talented and he’s not totally focused
yet. Hopefully they can get him moving forward, get him serious, and get him to
where he really wants to do his job. Right now, he doesn’t even know what his
job is. Once he figures it out, hopefully he’ll turn into a really nice horse.”

Ten Devils finished second by a half-length, with Moment of Weakness (Ire)
(Big Bad Bob) along for third. Major Art (GB) (Compton Place) checked in fourth,
followed by Oakcrest Drive (Arch), Dominator (GB) (Motivator), Robie the Cat and
Celestic Night (Vindication).

Silver Medallion had previously been based with Chad Brown. A winner at first
asking in a photo-finish at Saratoga on August 4, he was among those compromised
by an eventful start in the September 3 With Anticipation S. (G3) at the Spa and
wound up a distant fifth. Silver Medallion switched to Keeneland’s Polytrack for
the October 9 Breeders’ Futurity (G1), where he again met with trouble en route
to finishing seventh. Back on the turf for an entry-level allowance at Churchill
Downs on November 7, Silver Medallion was pinched back at the break, but did
better to get up for second. With this victorious debut for Asmussen, the bay
has bankrolled $92,904 from his 5-2-1-0 line.

Bred by Brereton C. Jones in Kentucky, Silver Medallion brought $150,000 as a
Keeneland September yearling. He is out of the Stalwart mare Another Vegetarian,
whose best runner is the aforementioned Sweet Talker, heroine of the 2005 Queen
Elizabeth II Invitational Challenge Cup (G1) and five other stakes. Another
Vegetarian has since produced an unnamed soon-to-be two-year-old filly by
Harlan’s Holiday. This is also the family of 2010 Garden City S. (G1), Sands
Point S. (G2), Virginia Oaks (G3) and Appalachian S. (G3) winner Check the Label
(Stormin Fever), and further back, Grade 1 queen Likeable Style (Nijinsky II).

Tales in Excess (left) and Wave of Applause were eyeball-to-eyeball (Benoit Photo) In the Blue Norther, the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Tales in Excess was expected to set up shop on the front end. She showed in front briefly, but was soon overtaken by a hustling Wave of Applause on the clubhouse turn. Regular rider Joel Rosario played the hand he was dealt, and kept Tales in Excess in a tracking second through fractions of :23, :47 2/5 and 1:11 3/5. Wave of Applause was still traveling strongly into the homestretch, when Tales in Excess threw down her challenge. The front runner proved tenacious, however, and fought back to cling to a slim lead. As the duel reached its climax nearing the wire, Tales in Excess found a little extra to get her nose down in time, completing the grassy mile in 1:36 1/5. The winner paid $3.80, $2.60 and $2.40. Wave of Applause was herself 1 1/2 lengths clear of the rallying Recipient (Point Given) in third. True Way of Grace (Yes It’s True), who had been trailing throughout, closed for fourth by a nose over Scantily Clad (Ire) (Acclamation), and Darling Ciana (Lion Heart) brought up the rear.

Tales in Excess rolled to a 4 1/2-length debut maiden victory at Del Mar on
September 4, but had been stuck on minor awards ever since. The bay finished a
close second in an entry-level allowance, was runner-up again in the October 24
Anoakia S., and was most recently a fading third in the November 21 Moccasin S.
Her Blue Norther success improved her resume to 5-2-2-1, $109,800.

The Kentucky-bred is out of the winning In Excess (Ire) mare Excess’s Best,
whose latest foal is an about-to-be two-year-old filly named Danger in Excess
(Forest Danger).