Derby Prospects: Tapit Trice

The Kentucky Derby distance should be no problem for this son of Tapit

Tapit Trice has done nothing but win in three starts at age three, and after a dramatic victory in the G1 Blue Grass Stakes, he looks to add to Todd Pletcher’s strong contingent of Kentucky Derby contenders.

Tapit Trice has made a name for himself as one of the strongest closers in this crop of three-year-olds. He’s come from off the pace in all of his races, and it’s unlikely they’ll try to change strategies for the Kentucky Derby. In his debut going a mile at Aqueduct, he was slow out of the gate despite being asked, but came with a late rally to finish third. His second start looked similar, as he was hustled from the gate but dropped back to last in the opening strides. With some encouragement, jockey Kendrick Carmouche was able to keep him in touch with most of the field, about four lengths off the front, and he moved up very easily around the turn to be within striking distance of the lead. It took him the length of the stretch to get by a game Slip Mahoney, but he was able to grind out the victory over a horse who would go on to finish second in the G3 Gotham Stakes after breaking his maiden in his next start.

Luis Saez was aboard for his first start against winners, going a mile at Gulfstream Park. Again, he was slow to get going in the first few strides despite urging from his rider, but Saez angled him outside and kept him relatively close, about two lengths off the front runners. Saez asked him for more run going into the turn, and while his acceleration was fairly gradual, he was rolling by the time they hit the top of the stretch and he drew off impressively to win by eight lengths.

His first start in stakes company was more of the same, as he broke slowly and took a while to get going but made steady progress through the field. It looked like he was all in after half a mile, as Saez was riding him hard without making much progress, but Saez kept on him and despite having seven horses still to pass as they entered the stretch, he kicked into gear and rolled right past them all. He was full of run in the final sixteenth, continuing to put distance between himself and the field after the wire.

In the Blue Grass Stakes, he broke with the field, which was good for him, and took a few strides to get going, as per usual, but with urging from Saez he was able to keep decent mid-pack position. He was in a bit tight going into the first turn and was subsequently shifted out for the run down the backstretch, starting out about eight lengths off the pace, but without much urging found a stalking position within three lengths of the leader while four or five wide. As usual, he was under a vigorous hand ride earlier than most of his opponents, but ranged up to the leader Verifying as they came into the lane. As in his maiden win, it took most of the stretch run for him to wear down his opponent, but he was eventually able to do so and won by a neck.

Tapit Trice is a son of Tapit out of the Dunkirk mare Danzatrice. Tapit needs no introduction, as one of the premier stallions in the breed, and with four Belmont Stakes winners to his name, there’s no question of distance limitations on the top half of this pedigree.

The bottom half of Tapit Trice’s pedigree has a mixture of both speed and stamina influences. His dam, Danzatrice, was a stakes winner who won at distances ranging from 4 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles - the furthest she ever raced. Her stakes wins were all at distances greater than a mile. She was by Dunkirk, a son of Unbridled’s Song who finished second in the Belmont Stakes, and is a half sister to 2018 Eclipse Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Jaywalk, herself by Unbridled’s Song’s son Cross Traffic. Their dam, Lady Pewitt, was a daughter of 2002 Eclipse Champion Sprinter Orientate who finished fourth in her only start. Lady Pewitt was out of the unraced mare Spin Room, by top miler Spinning World.

Spin Room was a half sister to four stakes winners: Del Mar Futurity and Pirate’s Bounty Stakes winner Forest Camp (by Deputy Minister); Fifth Season Stakes and Louisiana Handicap winner Spanish Empire (by Pleasant Colony); Roxelana Stakes winner Kiddari (by Smarty Jones); and Louisiana Derby and New Orleans Handicap winner Mission Impazible (by Unbridled’s Song). Their dam, the Hold Your Peace mare La Paz, was a multiple stakes winner with three stakes winning siblings out of her stakes winning dam. Their branch of Lowe family 19b traces back to the talented 1946 Frizette Stakes winner Bimlette, who was also the dam of Wood Memorial winner No Robbery.

Tapit Trice is far from the first stakes winner bred on the Tapit/Unbridled’s Song cross, with the most successful example being 3-time G1 winner Unique Bella. Tapit also has Wood Memorial winner Tacitus out of a mare by Unbridled’s Song’s son First Defence, and that colt was good enough to finish third in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes. Overall, Tapit produces 5.5% stakes winners in 200 starters out of mares carrying Unbridled’s Song anywhere in their pedigree, and 6.92% stakes winners out of mares from the Unbridled’s Song sire line.

Tapit has also done well with mares carrying Tapit Trice’s second damsire Orientate, with three other stakes winners in 31 starters bred on the cross (12.9%). G2 winner Anchor Down, G3 winner Iron Fist, and South African stakes winner Rodney are all by Tapit and out of Orientate mares. Two of those stakes winners are at eight or nine furlongs, so it’s obvious that Orientate doesn’t limit the ability of Tapit’s offspring to get middle distances. With his influence back in the third generation, there’s little concern of distance limitations here.

Despite a few sprinters in the third and fourth generations of his pedigree, I have no doubt that Tapit Trice will relish the Kentucky Derby distance, and would not be surprised to see him as a contender in the Belmont Stakes. The biggest question for him as a Derby horse is whether he will be able to work out the right trip - he’s the kind of horse who takes a while to get rolling, and I don’t expect him to be able to recover if he gets stopped in traffic. However, he showed a bit of a new dimension in the Blue Grass, he’s the kind of horse you can count on to be coming with his run late while some others might be backing up, and if he gets a clean trip he could be a win contender on the first Saturday in May.