Tapit's Best Chance at the Kentucky Derby

Life is good for Tapit. He’s the great white wonder of the Thoroughbred racing world and a two time champion sire. His luscious green paddock sits amidst rolling hills on central Kentucky’s Gainesway Farm and he gets the best mares to breed to for a stud fee of $300,000, the highest in North America. He has sired several top horses, among those being Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist and champion Untapable, who won the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The one thing he is missing is the title of Kentucky Derby winning sire.

Perhaps some days Tapit looks west out of his paddock and envisions Churchill Down’s infamous twin spires. Tapit once ran under those twin spires himself in a day where his coat was much more of a dappled gray than the current white. He had his own dreams of winning the Kentucky Derby, the most coveted race for three year olds. Unfortunately, he had to settle for ninth.

Through his sons, Tapit has tried to earn the winning title of the Kentucky Derby, but so far there has been no victory. He’s seen the likes of Hansen, the 2011 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile winner, go on to finish 9th and multiple graded stakes winners Tapiture and Frosted finish 15th and 4th respectively.

This year, Tapit is going all out. He has three sons loaded for the Kentucky Derby and he is ready to fire. Funny enough, they are all gray like him.

Number one on many people’s Kentucky Derby list is the undefeated Mohaymen, the colt with the disposition of a gentleman, but the look of a fierce competitor while racing. When Mohaymen rounds the final turn on the track his ears pin flat back against his head as he runs ahead of his competitors. He broke his maiden as a two year in his debut at Belmont Park before winning the Nashua Stakes and the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct. While he appeared a little green as a two year old, he came out dominant and professional in his three year old debut at Gulfstream Park. Without asking, Mohaymen won the Holy Bull Stakes by 3 1/2 lengths and the Fountain of Youth Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths. His final start before coming to Louisville will be the Florida Derby on April 2nd. There he will face his biggest competition yet with the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion Nyquist making the trip from the West coast.

Another Tapit son running his way into people’s hearts is Cupid. He started in California and it took three times until the colt broke his maiden in February of this year. On March 19th he made his stakes debut in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, won by American Pharoah last year. Cupid took the Rebel Stakes gate to wire, but seemed to get distracted for a moment in the final stretch. Whitmore came running like a freight train on the outside and it immediately brought Cupid’s mind back into the race. He fended off Whitmore and won by 1 1/4 lengths.

Tapit’s third 2016 Kentucky Derby contender is coming all the way from Japan to get his chance at the Run for the Roses. Like Cupid, Lani broke his maiden in his third race. He then went on to run first and fifth in Japan before making the trip to Meydan Racecourse for the March 26th UAE Derby. After stumbling at the break, Lani made his move coming out of the final turn and got up for the win, which sealed him a spot in the Kentucky Derby. He is scheduled to ship to the United States at the end of March.

Looking at the past decade of Kentucky Derby winners and even beyond that, it seems as if many winners are not by the top stallions anymore. The likes of Bull Lea and Sir Gallahad, both of whom produced three Kentucky Derby winners, have not been seen. California Chrome is the only big horse to come from his sire Lucky Pulpit and Animal Kingdom is by a Brazilian bred horse, Leroidesanimaux. Even American Pharoah, by Pioneer of the Nile, did not come from a proven stallion. It may seem as if the days of the top stallions siring Kentucky Derby winners are gone, but Tapit stands a good chance at getting that honor this year. He may not have gotten the blanket of roses himself, but it is likely that one of his sons may get the job done for him in 2016.

Written by Christine Oser