Tapwrit adds equipment for 2018 debut race Sunday
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Tapwrit, sixth in the 2017 Kentucky Derby and more notably the Belmont Stakes winner, will end a nine-month layoff Sunday in his return to the races.
The gray son of Tapit is set to go 1 1/16 miles in Belmont Park's Race 8 at 5:18 p.m. His competition in the six-horse field includes last year's Peter Pan (G3) winner Timeline and Hit It Once More, a multiple stakes winner.
"He's been training great," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "He hasn't run in a while but he's been training like he's good enough to run off the layoff. It's good to have him back and we're looking forward to getting a race into him. Hopefully this is the start of a successful campaign for him."
Pletcher said the Grade 2, $700,000 Suburban Handicap on July 7 could be Tapwrit's next spot should he run well Sunday.
According to the Daily Racing Form, Pletcher has addressed Tapwrit's foot issues since he was given time off following a fourth-place finish in the Travers Stakes. The 4-year-old colt will run with an aluminum pad on his right-front foot.
“Something we had been battling for awhile, we thought we had it in pretty good shape for the Travers but the race took its toll and set it back,” Pletcher told DRF. “It was one of those things that unless you stop training it wasn’t going to heal.” Tapwrit is the third and final 2017 classic winner to return to the races this year. Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming is 0-for-2, and Preakness Stakes Cloud Computing 0-for-1 but back on the shelf due to a setback.
The Travers marked Tapwrit's only race after his Belmont win. He rested after the Derby, following a similar path as Pletcher-trained Vino Rosso, who will contend in the 2018 Belmont Stakes.
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