Tapwrit

The world we share with these amazing animals may be an ever-changing one, but its mysteries abide. We consider ourselves ever more knowledgeable, ever more certain, riding the slipstream of science. Yet how much do we truly know, when Afternoon Deelites holds out for all those years and then waits just six days before following his owner to whatever shore may (or may not) lie beyond the horizon of life? The same journey was made this week by the trainer of Alydar. John Veitch laid the ground for the greatest...

On the first page of the New Year, Brad Cox bolded his claim in the race for spots on the Kentucky Derby-points leaderboard when his undefeated colt Victory Formation cruised home the easiest of winners in the Smart Jones S. to pick up ten of them, while his stablemate Angel of Empire gave their shared conditioner the exacta. Christened a 'TDN Rising Star' after he stylishly devastated a deep Keeneland maiden field Oct. 21 last year by over four lengths, the good-looking son of Tapwrit showed he had heart to...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $125,785, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 11-26, 2yo, 6f, 1:09.52, ft, neck. VICTORY FORMATION (c, 2, Tapwrit--Smart N Soft, by Smart Strike) sailed home to 'TDN Rising Star'-dom last out Oct. 21 against a deep Keeneland maiden special field, going coast-to-coast by 4 3/4 lengths to become the first for his sire to garner the accolade. Hammered down to 6-5 favoritism here on the step up into the allowance ranks, he vied with a rival early from the rail through :21.44 and :45.11 splits. After briefly leading and then...

Tapit's stud fee will remain at $185,000 in 2023, according to a press release from Gainesway Farm Wednesday morning announcing their roster and stud fees for the coming breeding season. The farm's top stallion is currently the leading active sire in North America by Grade I winners (29), Grade I horses (62), graded stakes winners (96), graded stakes performers (184), stakes winners (154), and stakes performers (299), and he is the all-time leading sire by lifetime progeny earnings ($188,654,112). The fee is the third-highest announced thus far for 2023, behind...

Sent away at a well-backed 7-2 in arguably the toughest and deepest 2-year-old maiden of the fall meet at Keeneland Friday afternoon, Spendthrift Farm and Frank Fletcher Racing Operation's Victory Formation (c, 2, Tapwrit--Smart N Soft, by Smart Strike) led past every pole to become the 10th individual winner and the first 'TDN Rising Star' for his Gainesway-based freshman sire (by Tapit). Hustled away from gate three by Luis Saez, Victory Formation headed off his rivals as the field linked up with the track proper and got the opening quarter...

6th-GP, $60K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 2:31 p.m. Chad Brown unveils Juddmonte homebred ARROBATIC, a daughter of their late champion Arrogate. The bay is out of GSW & G1SP Mexican Gold (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to Group 1 winner Announce (GB) (Selkirk). This is also the family of European champion Zafonic (Gone West). Cheyenne Stable went to $400,000 for Osiria (Malibu Moon) at KEESEP and she debuts here for Christophe Clement. The chestnut is a full-sister to MGSW Stanford (Maibu Moon) and a half to SW & MGSP Hedge Fund...

Gainesway's perennial leading sire Tapit (Pulpit--Tap Your Heels, by Unbridled) will once again head the farm's stallion roster and stud fees for the upcoming 2022 season. Tapit will remain at $185,000 live foal, stands and nurses. Currently among the top five North American stallions on the leading sires list of 2021, Tapit has three year-end leading sire titles and is North America's leading sire of Grade I winners with 27, Grade I performers with 58, graded stakes winners with 92, graded stakes horses with 177, and stakes performers with 284....

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,...

After 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality's sound victory in the GI Belmont S., his sire Tapit became one of only two stallions in history to produce four winners of the Classic test. In doing so, the champion sire did one of his other Belmont-winning sons, this one also a fellow Gainesway stallion, a favor by reinforcing the market's every-growing esteem for Tapit bloodlines. The achievements of Essential Quality and Tapit came at just the right time for Tapwrit (Tapit -Appealing Zophie, by Successful Appeal), who will have his first crop...

Thursday, Chris McGrath covered the first half of the Kentucky stallions with first yearlings. Click here to read about Justify, City of Light, West Coast, Mendelssohn, Good Magic, Bolt d'Oro, and Always Dreaming. The second part appears below. ACCELERATE (Lookin At Lucky--Issues, by Awesome Again) has also been trimmed to $17,500, at Lane's End, having already been our "gold" value pick of the intake at an opening $20,000. Whatever made him attractive then has scarcely diminished in the meantime, given that he was never going to appeal to those fast-buck...

With Tapit again leading its roster, Gainesway released its 2021 stud fees Wednesday. The gray super-sire, North America's leading stallion by lifetime graded stakes winners (84), Grade I winners (27), and progeny earnings ($159,714,395) will stand for $185,000 next year. He stood the 2020 season at $200,000. Four-time Grade I winner McKinzie (Street Sense) will begin his stud career next season at a fee of $30,000. (Click to view McKinzie's digital Flipbook). "I am excited about beginning this new chapter in the Gainesway stallions with McKinzie," said Gainesway CEO Antony...

Inject (f, 2, Frosted--Appealing Zophie, by Successful Appeal), a half-sister to GI Belmont S. hero Tapwrit (Tapit), became the first winner for her freshman sire (by Tapit) with a runaway 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Ellis Park Saturday. The 7-1 chance chased in second as Quick Munny (Munnings), drawn widest in post 10, sped through an opening quarter in :22.69. Inject, a $390,000 KEESEP yearling graduate, cruised up alongside that one at the top of the stretch and turned on the burners down the lane to graduate in style by...