NEW YORK -- The roles are reversed for Barclay Tagg this time around.
The New York-based trainer tried to sweep the Triple Crown with Funny Cide five years ago, but the gelding finished third in the Belmont Stakes behind Empire Maker, who ran second in the Kentucky Derby and then skipped the Preakness to freshen up for the Belmont.
Tagg plans to send out Tale of Ekati in the Belmont Stakes in two weeks hoping to spoil Big Brown's attempt at becoming the first Triple Crown champion in 30 years. Tale of Ekati finished fourth in the Derby, then skipped the Preakness and appears refreshed and ready for the Belmont.
"I don't know if he's good enough or not," Tagg said Friday of Tale of Ekati. "He ran good in the Derby. He went off at 47-1 and finished fourth out of 20."
The time off seemed to agree with Tale of Ekati, who sizzled in his first workout since the Derby earlier this week. The 3-year-old colt zipped a half-mile in 46.84 seconds at Belmont Park on Tuesday.
"He went faster than we would have liked," Tagg said, although he didn't seemed too concerned as he leaned back on the chair in his office next to his barn. "We just wanted a maintenance work, about 49 or 50 seconds. We'll see what happens."
In 2003, Funny Cide put in a blazing workout just before the Belmont that left many wondering whether the horse ran too hard before taking on the 1½-mile "Test of the Champion," the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown races.
Now in the role of spoiler, Tagg seems to be taking everything in stride. And why not? Big Brown will be the odds-on favorite after outclassing 19 rivals in the Derby and 11 more in the Preakness. A win and the unbeaten Big Brown becomes the 12th Triple Crown winner and first since Affirmed in 1978.
"I think he's the best thing around. He sure looks like it," Tagg said. "He has a very good trainer and he's a very good horse."
Tagg was as impressed as everyone else with the way Big Brown turned on the speed around the final turn and pulled away to win by 5 1/4 lengths in the Preakness.
"He was so far the best of that group it makes it that much more impressive," Tagg said of Big Brown's stretch run.
Nonetheless, Tale of Ekati will give it a shot. And the son of Tale of the Cat has some decent credentials.
First of all, the colt bred and owned by Canadian diamond miner Charles Fipke is 2-for-2 at Belmont over shorter distances. He won at 5½ furlongs in his first career start July 7, then captured the seven-furlong Belmont Futurity on Sept. 15. The colt ran fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Monmouth Park to finish his 2-year-old campaign.
Tale of Ekati opened this year with a sixth-place finish in the Louisiana Derby after a poor start, then won the Wood Memorial on April 5 at Aqueduct, running down War Pass in the stretch. He finished 11 lengths behind Big Brown at Churchill Downs.
Tagg is ready for another shot.
"I haven't spoiled anything, but I paid my money and I'll go to the race," Tagg said. "Either the horse can go a mile-and-a-half better than Big Brown or he can't."
FINISH LINES: Big Brown galloped 1½ miles around Belmont Park about 5:30 a.m., with exercise rider Michelle Nevin aboard. She added that the colt also went for a walk through the paddock. Big Brown is scheduled for a workout a week from Saturday, weather permitting. ... Casino Drive, 2-for-2 and expected to be Big Brown's top rival, had an easy canter around the track Friday morning, and is scheduled for a workout Wednesday. "He's done well every day," said Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for Casino Drive's owner, Hidetoshiu Yamamoto.