Tapit

Champion Essential Quality (Tapit) came into Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S. as the heavy favorite with three other Grade I victories to his credit, in addition to his Eclipse Award. Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), on the other hand, entered with a point to prove as he never had a chance to show his stuff last time in Monmouth's GI Haskell Invitational S. July 17, after clipping heels and almost going down in the stretch. Essential Quality got the better of his rival at Saratoga Saturday, but not before Midnight Bourbon gave...

And suddenly it feels as though the milestones have run out, leaving the road ahead tapering to some unmapped horizon. Because from now on, every dime earned by the progeny of Tapit will take him deeper into record territory. The success of Perfect Grace in a maiden at Saratoga on Saturday--and neither the setting nor the mating that produced this filly, with Horse of the Year Havre De Grace (Saint Liam), could be more commensurate with the moment--took their collective haul past the late Giant's Causeway's current tally of $173,015,900...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for Sunday running at Kokura, Niigata and Sapporo Racecourses. Sunday's G3 Kitakyushu Kinen at Kokura, one of a couple of steppingstones to October's G1 Sprinters' S., has attracted US-bred GISW Mozu Superflare (Speightstown) and GSW/G1SP Gendarme (Kitten's Joy) going the metric six furlongs: Sunday, August...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 6th-CNL, $50K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 4:05 p.m. ET Lidstrom (Tapit), the fourth-priciest lot at the 2019 Keeneland September sale on a $2.5-million winning bid from Godolphin, makes his debut here for trainer Mike Stidham. The grey is a half-brother to none other than champion juvenile, GI Kentucky Derby winner and now top young Darley sire Nyquist. He shows an upbeat tab at Delaware Park for this first go. TJCIS PPs

By Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis The 100th anniversary of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale, delayed a year due to the global pandemic, kicked off with a lively session of trade at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Monday evening. "It was a very solid opening session of the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "It was certainly a very healthy market. It was very similar and reminiscent of the 2019 marketplace. Overall, we are off to a very good start." A colt by Uncle Mo brought...

A Tapit filly from the deep female family of A.P. Indy, et al. gave the million-dollar mark a scare midway through the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale Monday night when she brought $990,000 from West Point Thoroughbreds, Scarlet Oak Racing and John Ballantyne. Consigned by Denali Stud, Agent VIII as hip 61 on behalf of WinStar Farm and Winchell Thoroughbreds, the Mar. 28 foal is half to unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Carribean Caper (Speightstown). West Point and partners bought the $1.5-million co-topping First Captain (Curlin) here two years ago. The 'Rising Star'...

There have been several horses over the past 100 years of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale to summon big price tags, eclipsing the $500,000 mark, in the Humphrey S. Finney pavilion and then go on to be quite successful on the racetrack. The siblings of four such Thoroughbreds are part of the catalogue for the famed auction's centennial edition to be held at the Spa Aug. 9-10. The 2017 GI Belmont S. winner Tapwrit (Tapit) summoned $1.2-million at the Saratoga Sale back in 2015 from a partnership comprised of Bridlewood Farm,...

Intangibles make good horses great horses. Consigned to the widest trip of any of the five runners left for Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga, Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' and reigning 2-year-old male Eclipse Award winner Essential Quality (Tapit) was under the pump fully a half-mile from home, but--as he has demonstrated on more than one occasion during a season that appears again to be on a championship trajectory--the gunmetal gray colt looked a rival straight in the eye, wagged his finger Dikembe Mutumbo-style and willed himself to the...

As the leader in a contentious 3-year-old division, all eyes will be on Godolphin's champion Essential Quality (Tapit) Saturday at Saratoga, but the race itself may lack for drama, as the gray lays over his five rivals in the GII Jim Dandy S., the Spa's traditional prep for the Aug. 28 GI Runhappy Travers S. Then again, stranger things have happened at the "Graveyard of Favorites". Sewing up his Eclipse Award as the top 2-year-old male via a three-for-three campaign that culminated with a score in the GI TVG Breeders'...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Niigata Racecourse: 3rd-NII, ¥9,680,000 ($88k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m MOZU LOTUS LAND (c, 3, Tapit--Sacred Feather, by Carson City), a $425K Keeneland September acquisition by the owner of MG1SW and now Japanese sire Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}), was a debut sixth...

Best Time (Tapit), a 3-year-old maiden colt out of champion 2-year-old filly Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), topped Keeneland's July Digital Sale Tuesday on a winning bid of $29,500. The regally bred gray was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency as hip 6, and was purchased by trainer Steve Asmussen's KDE Equine. The Hall of Fame conditioner has been training Best Time for Phoenix Thoroughbred III and co-breeder Hill 'n' Dale. Third in maiden special weight sprints at Indiana and Ellis to begin his career, the colt was most...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hakodate and Niigata Racecourses: Saturday, July 24, 2021 1st-HAK, ¥9,680,000 ($88k), Maiden, 2yo, 1800mT FIFTY CHEVY (c, 2, Tapit--Stopchargingmaria, by Tale of the Cat), a debut fourth going this distance at Tokyo June 13 (video, gate 2), attracted a final...