Due to ongoing inclement weather, Santa Anita has cancelled their Friday race card. Track officials said racing will continue as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. Santa Anita will add a race day next week to make up for the cancellation. The track remains open for simulcasting on Friday.
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We had the Forte (Violence) bit last week. Now for the piano. The champion juvenile resumed his sonata in virtuoso fashion, reprising themes established in its first movement with familiar verve. From his barnmate Tapit Trice, in contrast, we have so far only had a couple of experimental arpeggios–but even those have sufficed for their trainer to remove the local trial winner from his path in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on Saturday.
Now there are perfectly coherent grounds within his own game plan for evicting Litigate (Blame) to New Orleans, where he can open the final cycle of higher-graded qualifiers by contesting more starting points, and more money, over more real estate. Litigate having already sampled stakes competition, it's Tapit Trice who would seem more likely to remain in need of experience before the first Saturday in May. (Four of Todd Pletcher's five previous Tampa Bay Derby winners took in either the Wood Memorial or Blue Grass en route to Churchill.)
Even as things stand, however, a lot of people feel that the gray has the potential to wind in the geographical spread that typically makes the Kentucky Derby what it is–a showdown, on neutral ground, between the emerging leaders of their various local packs. While the center of gravity for the hibernating crop has arguably tilted away from Florida in recent times, with Oaklawn and the Fair Grounds offering a strengthening foil to the Californian talent pool, this time the two key protagonists could conceivably be strolling the same shedrow at Palm Meadows.
Listen to this week's edition of This Side Up here.
Tapit Trice has explored different dimensions of his talent despite a brief career to date, having set up his flamboyant allowance display with a gutsy maiden defeat of a colt who underscored his own talent when second in the GIII Gotham S. last week.
In that context, I can't omit to complain that Raise Cain (Violence) surely merits rather more respect than he has been receiving for a visually quite staggering exhibition at Aqueduct. You only have to think back to last year's Derby to see what can sometimes happen when a horse switches from synthetics to dirt, while hindsight discloses in Raise Cain's earlier races a pretty cogent foundation for what he did last Saturday.
Even switching from grass to synthetic prompted a barely less revelatory performance from Congruent (Tapit) in the John Battaglia Memorial S. (Both Raise Cain and Congruent, incidentally, graduate from the mystery tour that gave us Rich Strike (Keen Ice) last year). For now, however, Congruent is primarily a reinforcement for a sire whose admirers are rooting for Tapit Trice largely because it would be a travesty for the Derby to remain the single glaring omission on a glorious resume.
At 22, Tapit is in the evening of his career and his books will increasingly be curated with all the prudence you would expect of the Gainesway team who have managed his career so superbly. (And who also, by the way, bred and co-own Tapit Trice.) As such, his remaining shots at the Derby are clearly finite. It was looking pretty promising two winters ago, when he had Essential Quality playing the Forte hand, with Greatest Honour and Proxy coming through pianissimo. In the event, Essential Quality instead made Tapit the only modern stallion to produce four winners of the GI Belmont S.
Essential Quality | Sarah Andrew
To put that record in its epoch-making context, it is shared with a 19th century stallion whose stock was adapting exceptionally well to the novel demands of what–relative to the punishing four-mile heats contested by Lexington himself–was almost a form of sprint racing. (For instance, Lexington also produced nine of the first 15 winners of the Travers, then over 14 furlongs.) The idea of showcasing the speed of younger horses, in a single dash, had gained prestige through the Classics introduced in Britain the previous century. For many of us, however, that arc has since been followed too steeply–to the point that the Belmont is now a unique test of the American sophomore's stamina.
I've often remarked on the dilution of the Kentucky Derby tempo since the willful exclusion of sprint speed by the points system, and conceivably this has also contributed Tapit's wait for the winner he so deserves. Setting aside last year's aberration, the race is no longer making the same demands that formerly identified the kind of speed-carrying genes we should be looking to replicate. Essential Quality, for instance, found himself in a procession of a race, the protagonists maintaining their relative positions virtually throughout.
Unluckily, moreover, the colossus who bestrides even all Tapit's other work was only able to explore a second turn as an older horse. Otherwise, of course, Flightline offers the perfect template for anyone who spends seven figures on a Tapit yearling, such as the one now hot favorite for the Tampa Bay Derby. Whether Flightline should command a higher fee than his sire is another matter: it will be 2026 before he can sire the winner of a maiden claimer, while Tapit has 30 Grade I winners and counting.
Flightline | Horsephotos
Not that we can ever neglect the bottom half of the equation. The Fappiano mare Jeano, for instance, appears not only as third dam of Essential Quality but also as fourth dam of none other than Forte. This branch of the La Troienne dynasty has already produced a Derby winner in Smarty Jones. But while Tapit finished midfield that day, covered in slop, he now stands on the brink of a fresh series of landmarks in his second career.
Tapit Trice is bidding to become Tapit's 99th graded stakes scorer and (through Thursday, at any rate) his 991st individual winner. The earnings of his stock, already unprecedented, have just tipped $195 million. Moreover these tallies have been achieved at an exceptional clip, underpinned by equally outstanding ratios for starters (84 percent of named foals) and winners (63 percent).
And that's what I adore about the legacy he has been putting together: Tapit has not allowed the huge books of the commercial age to distort his efficacy, instead maintaining a dependability poignantly at odds with the extraneous frustrations that hindered his own fulfilment on the racetrack. How apt that Tapit claimed the earnings record from one whose ferrous qualities earned him celebrity as “The Iron Horse”. Of what, then, must he be made? Tungsten? Whatever it may be, he's worth his weight in it–no less than that first Derby, as and when it finally comes, will absolutely feel worth the wait.
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In this continuing series from last year, we examine the past winners of significant filly/mare races by the lasting influence they've had on the breed. Up today is Santa Anita's GI Beholder Mile S., the first Grade I event of the year in the distaff division.
Formerly the Vanity, formerly run at Hollywood Park, and formerly run at distances up to 1 1/4 miles, the Beholder Mile has had one constant: class. Some of the most decorated racemares of our sport have won it since it was inaugurated in 1940, including Hall of Famers Busher, Bewitch, Silver Spoon, Gamely, Azeri, Zenyatta, and, of course, Beholder, the multiple champion who won the 2016 edition and for whom the race is now named.
Following are some of the most important Beholder Mile winners by what impact they've had on the sport through their sons and daughters.
Byrama (GB) (2009, Byron {GB}–Aymara {GB}, by Darshaan {GB}), bred by Ermyn Lodge Stud Limited: Five years after winning the last Vanity run at Hollywood Park, this mare produced Known Agenda (Curlin), winner of the 2021 GI Florida Derby. The popular young stallion is currently standing his second season at Spendthrift Farm, where he was among the top 30 stallions in the nation by number of mares bred last year.
Hollywood Story (2001, Wild Rush–Wife for Life, by Dynaformer), bred by Vinery: The best of her four stakes performers to date is 2020 GI Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (Honor Code). The flashy young Lane's End stallion will have his first yearlings at the sales this year; he was among the top 10 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearlings himself when he sold in 2018.
Gorgeous (1986, Slew o' Gold–Kamar, by Key to the Mint), bred by Hermitage Farm, Inc., A. G. Clay, and R. N. Clay: Bred to the finest stallions of her time, Gorgeous “only” produced one stakes winner from her 11 foals, the French listed SW & MGSP Stunning (Nureyev). However, genetic gold has since been bubbling to the surface through her descendants, which include English champion and G1SW Music Show (Ire) (Noverre); Venezuelan champion La Alpujarra (Ven) (Pioneerof the Nile); four-time GISW Turbulent Descent (Congrats); GISW Swift Temper (Giant's Causeway); GSW & MGISP All Included (Include); and several other black-type winners.
Bayakoa (Arg) (1984, Consultant's Bid–Arlucea {Arg}, by Good Manners), bred by Haras Principal: From just four foals and only two daughters to make it to the breeding shed, Bayakoa is the granddam of GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort Larned (E Dubai), MGISW Affluent (Affirmed), and GSW Walkabout (Stroll), as well as the ancestor of seven more stakes performers, including 2022 GIII Regret S. winner Walkathon (Twirling Candy) and last month's GIII Palos Verdes S. runner-up Radical Right (First Samurai).
Track Robbery (1976, No Robbery–Left At Home, by Run For Nurse), bred by Edgar Kitchen: Her MGSW & MGISP Train Robbery (Alydar) produced GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Cat Thief (Storm Cat) while another Alydar daughter produced GISW Pohave (Holy Bull) and is the granddam of GSW and $2.2-million Summer Wind broodmare purchase Tapicat (Tapit). Cat Thief is turning into a first-rate broodmare sire with runners out of his daughters including champion 2-year-old colt and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile), as well as Chilean champion and U.S. GISW Wow Cat (Chi) (Lookin At Lucky).
It's in the Air (1976, Mr. Prospector–A Wind Is Rising, by Francis S.), bred by Happy Valley Farm: Best remembered as the first champion sired by Mr. Prospector and her sale for $4.6 million to Darley at Keeneland November in the 80s, she produced four stakes performers but it's her descendants a generation or more removed that have proved more valuable. Those tracing to her include 2021 G1 Dubai World Cup winner and new 2023 Darley stallion Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) and his five-time GISW dam Music Note (A.P. Indy); U.S. GISW and English/French/Australian G1SW State of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}); English G1SW and U.S. MGISW Storming Home (GB) (Machiavellian); French G1SW and U.S. GISW Musical Chimes (In Excess {Ire}); and Australian G1SWs Glencadam Gold (Ire) (Refuse To Bend {Ire}) and Alverta (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}).
Tallahto (1970, Nantallah–Legato, by Dark Star), bred by Howard B. Keck: She produced two GISWs in son Prince True (Majestic Light) and daughter Hidden Light (Majestic Light) and her descendants include group winners in Japan, Australia, and South Africa, but her best thus far is undoubtedly grandson and GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner Artie Schiller (El Prado {Ire}). He has sired GI/G1 winners in both the U.S. and Australia.
Countess Fleet (1951, Count Fleet–Honor Bound, by Bull Dog {Fr}), bred by Robert Lehman: Although she's got a number of stakes performers on multiple continents tracing to her, it'll likely be champion and Breeders' Cup winner Storm Song (Summer Squall) that is her legacy. One of Storm Song's daughters produced four black-type winners, including multiple European champion and MG1SW Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
Two Lea (1946, Bull Lea–Two Bob, by The Porter), bred by Calumet Farm: The best of her three black-type winning sons on the racetrack was champion and dual Classic winner Tim Tam (Tom Fool), but her best in the breeding shed was seven-time stakes winner On-and-On (Nasrullah {GB}). As a sire, On-and-On's sons included 1968 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Forward Pass, while he is also the broodmare sire of breed-shaping stallion Alydar (Raise a Native).
Be Faithful (1942, Bimelech–Bloodroot, by Blue Larkspur), bred by Idle Hour Stock Farm Co: The number of high-class stakes winners tracing to this mare is significant with the very finest going through her Kentucky Oaks- and Beldame-winning daughter Lalun (Djeddah {Fr}). The impact of Lalun's champion son Never Bend (Nasrullah {GB}) and Travers-winning son Bold Reason (Hail to Reason) as sires is staggering. The former sired Epsom Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Mill Reef, as well as Broodmare of the Year Courtly Dee, who is considered one of the greatest broodmares of the last century and still churns out top-class winners tracing directly to her with great regularity. Not to be outdone, Bold Reason came up with an extraordinary daughter of his own in Fairy Bridge, dam of MG1SW Sadler's Wells (Northern Dancer), whose mark on the breed as a sire is unparalleled.
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Edited Press Release
In advance of the anticipated effective date of HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program March 27, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) calls the Thoroughbred industry's attention to regulations regarding the presence and use of bisphosphonates in covered horses.
Bisphosphonates are a class of medication prescribed for managing clinical signs associated with navicular syndrome in horses 4-years-old or above. They also have a history of extra-label use in younger horses. Bisphosphonates may be detected in samples from treated horses for months to years after administration.
The ADMC Program regulations categorize bisphosphonates as a Banned Substance, meaning that they are prohibited from being administered to, or present in, covered horses at any time. Covered horses that test positive for bisphosphonates under the ADMC Program are subject to lifetime ineligibility, and associated covered persons may incur an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
Given the prolonged detection period for bisphosphonates and the fact that their use is permitted in other racing jurisdictions internationally:
HIWU will not pursue disciplinary action against covered horses or their associated covered person(s) for the presence of bisphosphonates if the covered person(s) can provide documentation (e.g., medical records or a positive test result) to HIWU of the administration or presence of bisphosphonates prior to the implementation date of the ADMC Program. In accordance with HISA's requirements for covered horses, all medical records, including any relevant test results, must be uploaded to the HISA portal. Additionally, due to the variability of bisphosphonate detection through laboratory analysis, all bisphosphonate findings detected under the ADMC Program will undergo thorough review regardless of the alleged timing of administration.
If owners or horsemen have concerns that their horses may have been administered bisphosphonates prior to March 27, including prior to a sale at public auction domestically or internationally, HISA and HIWU advise them to consider bisphosphonate screenings for these horses before the ADMC Program takes effect.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act does not enable HISA's ADMC Program to be enforced retroactively for actions occurring prior to its implementation. The detection of administrations from prior to March 27 that violate respective state rules in effect during that time period will be referred to the relevant state regulatory authorities.
While bisphosphonates continue to be permitted in Thoroughbred racehorses in international jurisdictions, any covered horse proven to have been administered bisphosphonates after the March 27 implementation date will be subject to lifetime ineligibility, and associated covered persons may incur an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
For questions about the use of bisphosphonates and other substances on the ADMC Prohibited List, stakeholders are encouraged to visit here and reach out to HIWU Chief of Science Dr. Mary Scollay at mscollay@hiwu.org.
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