2016 Kentucky Derby - Cupid Pedigree Profile

Cupid added his name to the growing roster of 2016 Kentucky Derby contenders with a wire to wire score in Oaklawn Park’s Rebel Stakes (G2).

The pretty gray colt rated nicely for Martin Garcia through fractions of 22:96 for the opening quarter and :46.82 for the half mile. Never under serious pressure from the field, the pair galloped six furlongs in a brisk 1:12,11 and flew a mile in 1:37.65. Whitmore and Irad Ortiz, Jr. charged from ninth place to mount a serious challenge, but Cupid found another gear, took aim at the wire and drew away to a 1 ¼ victory. Whitmore placed 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Creator, another son of Tapit.

The final time of 1:43.84 was the fastest of five races carded at 1 1/16 miles.  Call Pat a six-year-old mare won the Azeri Stakes (G2) in 1:44.44, while the four-year-old Upstart captured the Razorback Stakes (G2) in 1:44.12. 

Cupid (Tapit - Pretty 'n Smart, by Beau Genius) carried the seventh highest price tag of the 2014 Keeneland September Sales at $900,000. Bred by JKG Thoroughbreds LLC, the handsome son of Tapit was scooped up by the well-known Irish trio of Tabor, Magnier and Smith, a/k/a Coolmore. 

Unlike many of  Bob Baffert’s charges, Cupid wasn’t rushed to the races and didn’t make his debut until late December. The colt is technically still a two-year-old, and won’t celebrate his physical third birthday until May 19, just two days before the Preakness. The colt’s female family has a history of being later maturing runners.

Typical of a late season foal, Cupid has improved in each of his four starts. He was a close up fourth in a six-furlong sprint in his initial start. A month later, Cupid placed second to Denman’s Call in a 5 ½ furlong event.  That one came back to earn third place behind Nyquist in the five-horse San Vicente Stakes. Sent two turns for the first time in February, Cupid showed talent while racing greenly. He stumbled slightly coming out of the gate and had trouble cornering around both turns. Cupid ducked in slightly in the stretch before passing his rivals and cocked his head slightly to see where he was going.  Despite this, Cupid scored by with a 5 ¼ length triumph.  Cupid has a 4-2-1-0 ($587,500) race record and 50 shiny new Kentucky Derby qualifying points.

Sire

What can I say about Tapit (Pulpit – Tap Your Heels, by Unbridled) that hasn’t already been said? In North America from just nine crops to race, Tapit has 10% stakes winners from starters and 22% blacktype earners from starters.  His offspring are cropping up in stakes races everywhere.  Every day at least one of Tapit’s babies is having its photo taken in a winner’s circle. It’s a good thing that they are photogenic. 

The most successful sires “upgrade their mares,” meaning that they improve the quality of the mare’s offspring. The sires also complement and amplify the natural affinities of the distaff line. For instance, If the immediate female family, that is, the first two generations, are predominantly sprinter/milers, the sire likely won’t add a whole lot in the way of staying power, but will add class to the foal and augment the speed.  The reverse is also true. A stallion who enhances the alibies of the distaff line will sire winners at longer distances.

This certainly applies to Tapit.  The pretty gray stallion’s progeny are generally best up to 1 1/8 miles. This isn’t surprising, since the majority of the races contested in the US are sprints to middle distances. Tapit has proven that he is entirely capable of siring winners at classic distances.  His progeny have won twenty races at 1 1/4 miles or farther worldwide, including Tonalist; Careless Jewel, Headache, Teen Pauline, and Testa Matta. 

Besides, Cupid and the aforementioned Creator, Tapit is the proud sire of the leading points contender and Derby favorite Mohaymen,

Female Family:

Cupid’s female family has had a resurgence of class not seen since the days of his fifth dam, Lorgnette.

Cupid’s dam Pretty 'n Smart (Beau Genius - Charge d'Affaires, by Vice Regent) didn’t race until late March of her three-year-old season. She won her debut and finale. In between, Pretty n’ Smart hovered on the periphery of stakes winner status. Almost, but not quite good enough to win.   Pretty n’ Smart tallied four third place finishes. Twice at the allowance level and two stakes; the listed Manhattan Beach (seven furlongs, turf); and the Railbird (seven furlongs, dirt).  Pretty n’ Smart was a hard trier, finishing out of the money only once in seven starts.  The Chestnut mare retired with a 7-2-0-4 ($77,840) race record.

Pretty n’ Smart is living up to her moniker as a broodmare.  Eight of her ten foals of racing age have raced and all eight have visited the winners circle at least once. Not counted in the mix is Cupid’s full little sister, who is an unnamed two-year-old.

Despite being primarily sprinter/milers that are distance challenged past a mile to 1 1/16 miles, Pretty n’ Smart’s offspring are late maturing types, four of her foals started as two year olds and two were successful. Four, including Cupid, are stakes winners.

Pretty n’ Smart’s daughters, Ashley’s Kitty (Tale of the Cat) and Heart Ashley (Lion Heart) earned Grade 3 blacktype as sprinters. Her son Indianapolis (Medaglia d'Oro) was originally owned and trained by Cupid’s connections. After comping a three-race win streak, including the listed San Pedro Stakes against short fields, Indianapolis was tossed into the 14-horse Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), where he placed tenth. The colt never won again. After finishing fourth in the Malibu, he was sold to race in Dubai.

Cupid’s full brother Dream Team is also his stablemate. The $1 million dollar Keeneland Yearling is less accomplished than his younger brother, which underscores how arbitrary the world of breeding and genetics can be. Dream Team began his career last August.  After placing in his first two starts, the gray colt won his maiden traveling a mile over the Del Mar dirt. However, he finished 2015 in mid-pack in two allowance races, both at a mile. Dream Team has been working steadily towards a return to racing. 

Pretty n’ Smart is outclassing her dam Charge d'Affaires as a broodmare. Charge D'affaires (Vice Regent - Office Affair, by Secretariat) had 11 foals, nine starters, six winners.  Her foals were late maturing. Three started as two year olds, none won. The most accomplished was Hostess (Chester House), who captured the 1 ½ mile Orchid (G3) and 1 3/16 mile Glens Falls (G-3).

Cupid’s third generation has no blacktype earners and there is a smattering of minor blacktype earners in his fourth generation. Cupid’s fifth dam Lorgnette clearly passed her genes along to succeeding generations, which include the multiple stakes winning veteran Whitmore’s Conn, 1987 Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero Success Express and his half-brother Canadian Champion Turfer Charlie Barley.  

Part of Pretty n’ Smart’s success as a broodmare could be attributed to her breeding. The mare is inbred 3x4 to Northern Dancer and Victoria Regina through full brothers. Pretty n’ Smart’s damsire is Vice Regent, Canada’s leading sire for 13 years.

Pretty n’ Smart’s sire Beau Genus’ damsire is Vice Regent’s full brother, Canadian Horse of the Year, Viceregal.  The full brother’s second dam Victoriana is a blue hen and dam of two Champions and four stakes winners from only six foals.

Other than Cupid’s two siblings, Tapit has no other foals out of Beau Genius mares.

Damsire

Beau Genius (Bold Ruckus - Royal Colleen, by Viceregal) was a constant type that handicappers love. The Chestnut horse earned over $1 million dollars in 42 starts while competing at 15 different tracks. He was successful in stakes company from six furlongs to 1 ¼ miles. Beau Genius gave the legendary Bill Shoemaker his final stakes score, earning the stallion a spot in racing trivia. 

Beau Genius stood in Kentucky for ten years before moving to California and joining the leading sire ranks.  He sired 83 blacktype earners and his two Grade 1 winners, Big Matcher and Belle Genius were sprinters.  Beau Genius’ offspring win from sprints to 1 1/8 miles and are proficient over all surfaces.  He has one stakes winner at 1 ¼ miles.  

Beau Genius is the broodmare sire of 49 stakes winners. Beau Genius’ daughters are passing along the stallion’s characteristics. Their babies win over all surfaces and their stakes winners’ distance range is six furlongs to 1 1/8 miles.  Beau Genius is the damsire of 1999 Arkansas Derby winner Certain, Ashland Stakes heroine Sis City, and Honeymoon Breeders’ Cup Handicap heroine Three Degrees. All are graded stakes winners at 1 1/8 miles.  Naturally, there has to be one horse that doesn’t fit the parameters.  That would be Gangbuster, winner of the second and last edition of the 1? mile (13 furlongs) Fort Harrod Stakes over the Keeneland Polytrack in 2009. 

Outlook

Cupid’s has a solid middle-distance pedigree and could possibly handle 1 ¼ miles. But will he be mature enough to do so by May?

Cupid has the predominant coloring and build of the standard Tapit model. If all of Tapit’s gray offspring were in a field together we’d see a color range from dark steel to a dazzling light gray, but physically, they would be difficult to tell apart.  However, their running styles and gaits are individualistic. 

Cupid has high knee action and he paddles with his left foreleg. He ran greenly in his first three starts, blowing turns and ducking in.  The colt has worn blinkers in all of his starts and from observation, he appears to have difficulty sensing what is around him.  Blinkers narrow a horse’s sight. In some cases, this can help a horse to tune out distractions. However, blinkers can hinder a horse who is trying to rely on all of his senses for race stimuli, to sense where other horses are in the race and what is in front of him.

We saw a more competent Cupid in Arkansas. He handled the turns better, and other than ducking in from the crowd noise, which is something American Pharoah did last year, Cupid straightened out quickly and kept to task. Whitmore made a serious challenge down the stretch and came within a head of the lead.  Once Cupid was aware of his rival, he shifted to another gear and drew off. That is the sign of a serious racehorse.  

Cupid has the breeding, conformation and talent to be a legitimate Triple Crown contender, but as we know, there’s more to it than that.  The race series is stressful on seasoned colts and it has destroyed the careers of many lightly raced contenders who didn’t have the physical foundation, experience or mental fortitude to endure the trials.

Cupid will still be physically two years old when the gates open in the Kentucky Derby. I would say that he lacks two-year-old foundation, but Cupid made his debut while he was actually a yearling. Throughout Kentucky Derby history, only eight colts who were foaled in May have succeeded in wearing the roses. The last one was Canada’s Champion Two-Year-Old, Mine That Bird.

Cupid’s next test will probably be the Arkansas Derby on April 16. Cupid is quickly learning how to harness his natural ability. But will it be soon enough for him to handle the more experienced competition and stress of the Kentucky Derby?