Sunday, June 11, 2017
Following are some indisputable facts about Tapwrit.
1. He sold for $1.2 million to Bridlewood Farm, Robert LaPenta and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners at the 2016 Saratoga sale.
2. His Belmont victory boosted his earnings to $1,143,902, so one more race and they're out as far as the price is concerned.
3. He's 4-1-0 in 8 starts and has won two stakes other than the Belmont - the Gr. II Tampa Bay Derby and Pulpit - and finished second in the Gr. III Sam F. Davis.
4. He's the third son of Tapit to win the Belmont in the last four years.
5. The Malones weren't able to be there for the Belmont, but Bridlewood manager George Isaacs looked really suave at the trophy presentation sporting another of his stylish straw hats.
6. There are two sons of Tapit standing in Ocala - Woodford's He's had Enough and Hartley/DeRenzo's Rattlesnake Bridge. Tapwrit has already earned more than those two combined.
7. What if Robert LaPenta and the many entities represented by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, neither of which owns a farm standing stallions, I don't think, told John and Leslie Malone they could stand Tapwrit at Bridlewood when his racing career ends, at least for a couple of years, like Mr. Prospector, Stormy Atlantic, Successful Appeal, Yes It's True, Northern Afleet and more recently, Kantharos, etc. It would have to be listed under the headline Always Dreaming, but what a boost it would be to the Florida breeding industry.
It won't happen, of course, for several reasons, two of which are obvious. First is that the colt appears to be of such a caliber he could go on to win many millions more and that would take him out of the Florida mix. Second is that he would stand for a stud fee too high for the area to support. There are only two stallions in Ocala with fees as high as $10,000. It's been quite a while since there was a high-priced stallion here, possibly not since Codex, and before him In Reality.
Ocala hasn't had a Belmont winner standing since Sarava (he won in 2002) and three decades earlier it was Peter Kissel's Pass Catcher, who won in 1971 and stood at October House Farm. Needles, of course, was the first. But Sarava was a one-hit wonder, wasn't well-received, and didn't last long in Florida.
Hey, it was just a thought.
RAINBOW RISES - The Rainbow 6 jackpot has reached $842,532 heading into today's Gulfstream program. If there isn't a single winner today, bettors will have three days to keep trying before there's a mandatory payout on Saturday. If it reaches Saturday intact, the pool will be gigantic - again.
GOOD PROSPECTS - Ocala Stud's Prospective became the third Florida freshman sire to get a winner when Happy River scored in a $25,000 maiden claimer at Gulstream on Friday. Bred by Robert Shoukry, the filly raced five furlongs in 1:00.64 under Emisael Jaramillo and won by nearly four lengths, earning a check for $14,400.
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