Tacitus' Belmont Stakes run ends Mott's 'mixed bag' Triple Crown

Jockey Jose Ortiz thought that as Tacitus ranged up on the outside through the far turn of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, he had the right horse in sight — that being War of Will, the second choice to his 9-5 favorite.

But War of Will — the only colt to contend in all three legs of the 2019 Triple Crown series — came up flat in the stretch. In the process, Sir Winston crossed over War of Will to take position, and Tacitus ended up driving wider than Ortiz would have liked.

“My horse is a grinder,” the jockey said. “He kept coming.”

Ultimately, Tacitus came up a length short in a race many figured set up so well for him as a son of Tapit who ran on in the Kentucky Derby, rested and returned five weeks later at Belmont Park.

“You can’t say he’s horrible. He’s run well,” said Bill Mott, who trains Tacitus. “I think he’s a nice horse, and with that being said — and hopefully I’m right — he’ll get better and better as time goes on.”

Back on the first Saturday in May the Hall of Famer was the beneficiary of a stewards decision to promote Country House to a win.

“It’s been a mixed bag for sure. In a sense, it’s been a good Triple Crown,” Mott said. “I guess there’s been a lot of horses in there that have had a shot.”

On that note, he quipped of Sir Winston, the Belmont winner, “How do we say this one’s name?”

Country House has resumed training at Churchill Downs and will eventually relocate to New York. Tacitus figures to stay there, with races such as the July 27 Jim Dandy (G2) and Aug. 24 Travers (G1) ahead.

“I think they’re both going to be running in the same types of races,” Mott said. “If they both need to run in a particular race, I’m not going to separate them. If it’s a prep race or something, naturally, you’d like to.

“But when you come to the Grade 1 races, if they need to run against each other, you’ve got to be fair to all the ownership and give them their best chance.”