Tacitus

Every year, the Fasig-Tipton July sale offers the first chance for buyers to get a look at a new crop of yearling sires. Many buyers were seeing these sires' yearlings for the first time this week, and while it's admittedly early, we took a little survey to get their first impressions. The group includes: Basin, Beau Liam, By My Standards, Charlatan, Core Beliefs, Essential Quality, Independence Hall, Knicks Go, Known Agenda, Leinster, Lexitonian, Maxfield, Modernist, Raging Bull, Rock Your World, Silver State, Tacitus, Uncle Chuck, and Yaupon. LIZ CROW: Tacitus...

For the second year running, the G1 Epsom Derby winner was bred from one of Coolmore's countless Galileo (Ire) mares outcrossed to an American sire line. But whereas Sunday Silence's son Deep Impact (Jpn) gave Auguste Rodin (Ire) further turf genes from his mother's European family, City Of Troy's sire is a conduit for virtually unadulterated dirt blood. Justify's first four dams are, respectively, by grandsons of Deputy Minister, Seattle Slew, Northern Dancer and Bold Ruler. The third of those names, of course, transformed the European breed, albeit alongside other...

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has plenty to look forward to at next month's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, with at least five trainees eyeing stakes engagements during the lucrative weekend. Juddmonte homebred Batten Down (Tapit) is the latest addition to the prospective field for the GI Belmont S. with Mott confirming the 10-furlong test is next. "I don't know if he'll get in or not--he's only broken his maiden," said Mott. At fourth asking Apr. 30 at Aqueduct, the full-brother to the Mott-trained MGISP and current sire Tacitus drew...

4th-Churchill Downs, $117,750, Msw, 4-30, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:02.49, ft, 8 3/4 lengths. BATTEN DOWN (c, 3, Tapit--Close Hatches {Ch. Older Mare, MGISW, $2,707,300}, by First Defence), a full-brother to Tacitus (MGSW & MGISP, $3,767,350), romped home the easiest of winners when stretched to 10 furlongs at Churchill Downs Tuesday. A distant sixth in his seven-furlong unveiling Jan. 27, the gray missed by just a neck when second after setting the pace going nine furlongs at Gulfstream Feb. 24 and was beaten a half-length when third going 1 1/16 miles...

9th-GP, $92K, OC62k, 4yo/up, f, 1m, 5:07 p.m. ET. Juddmonte colorbearer SCYLLA (Tapit) makes her return to the races as the older filly looks to jumpstart her new campaign. The Bill Mott trainee certainly made her mark when she attained 'TDN Rising Star' honors as a debut winner at Keeneland last April, and then followed that up with an 8 1/4-length win against optional claimers at Churchill Downs in early June. Out of champion older mare Close Hatches (First Defence), the homebred is a full-sister to MGSW/MGISP and current sire...

Somehow this is a real sweet spot in the market. For a stallion farm, the $10,000 cover is a particular pitch: you're a cent away from offering a horse at four figures, but you feel that dropping him into a low-rent neighborhood might be beneath his dignity. You're offering a very accessible fee, but you're not going to let him look cheap. That makes this a surprisingly congested zone, ample for separate assessment. And since clinging to a five-figure fee somewhat represents a show of faith, some of these sires...

As the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continued into its second week Wednesday in Lexington, figures for the auction continued to fall well off 2022 statistics. Through eight sessions, 1,873 horses have sold for $173,925,300 for an average of $92,859 and a median of $40,000. The average is down 17.57% from the corresponding figure from 2022, while the median is down 20.00%. The buy-back rate remained largely steady through eight sessions as 558 horses were reported not sold for a buy-back rate of 22.95%. It was 23.08% a year ago....

Stakes winner Ocean Safari (Temple City) (Hip 2451) led the proceedings with a $190,000 final bid from Hugo Merry Bloodstock during Tuesday's seventh session of the Keeneland November Sale in Lexington. Purchased on behalf of Blue Diamond Stud, the 4-year-old, who was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect, was consigned by Taylor Made Sales, also the session's leading consignor with sales of $1,374,000 for 38 horses. A daughter of Media Access (Devil's Bag), the dark bay is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Access to Charlie (Indian Charlie) and...

Not This Time (Giant's Causeway), whose three-time Grade I-winning son Up To the Mark is a leading candidate for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf and Horse of the Year honors, will stand the 2024 breeding season for a fee of $150,000, stands-and-nurses terms, at Taylor Made Stallions. Not This Time stood the 2023 season for $135,000. The sire of 2022 champion 3-year-old male Epicenter, Not This Time has gone from strength to strength this term, and sits in eighth position on the general sire list with better than $10.4 million...

The Jockey Club Registry Aug. 8 issued its 100,000th digital certificate of foal registration to a gray colt by Tacitus (Tapit), out of Jibboom by Mizzen Mast, the organization said in a release Thursday. The foal, born on Feb. 10, was bred and is owned by Juddmonte, which is also the original certificate manager. "We are pleased that digital certificates have been so well-received," said Rick Bailey, registrar for The Jockey Club. "Digital certificates have streamlined the registration process and transfer of certificates, certificates can no longer be damaged or...

The latest royally-bred filly to hit the track for owner/breeder Juddmonte Farm, Scylla (Tapit) lived up to her illustrious connections with a 2 1/2-length score on debut at Keeneland Saturday. Despite being the full-sister to current Taylor Made stallion Tacitus, MGSW & MGISP, $3,767,350, Scylla earned only 5-2 billing--going off as the second choice in the wagering behind the more experienced Zeitlos (Curlin). A step slow from the blocks, the bay found herself in eighth with only a handful of rivals beaten as Miss Arlington (Mark Valeski) paced the field...

Taylor Made Stallions' MGSW Tacitus (Tapit) out of MGISW Close Hatches, sired his first reported foals in New York on Monday, Jan. 16. The arrivals were a colt born at Waldorf Farm out of the Bustin Stones mare Super Stone who was bred by Jerry Bilinski, DVM, and a filly produced from SW Courageous Cat mare Lady Joan who was bred by Irish Hill Century Farm and foaled there. "She is what I was expecting a Tacitus foal would look like," said Rick Burke of Irish Hill Century Farm. "She...