Belmont Stakes: All smiles from Team Tacitus
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Bill Mott was watching a handful of horses complete workouts on the Belmont Park training track Sunday morning when jockey Jose Ortiz walked up to stand alongside him. Mott and Ortiz exchanged their thoughts on what had happened about an hour earlier on the main track when Ortiz guided the Mott-trained Tacitus through his final workout in preparation for Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.
When a visitor inquired about how they felt the work went, the ear-to-ear smiles on the faces of both men told the story. Mott then summed up how they felt when he said, “We’re optimistic about our chances.”
Tacitus, the winner of the Tampa Bay Derby and Wood Memorial, worked five furlongs in 1:00.31, according to Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch, over the main track. Tacitus started about two lengths behind Tide of the Sea, a 3-year-old maiden, and after tracking him until the eighth pole, and with slight urging from Ortiz, Tacitus left his workmate and finished four lengths in front at the wire. Tacitus got his final quarter in 24.07 and then galloped out six furlongs in 1:12.91.
This was the third work for Tacitus since the Kentucky Derby, where he finished fourth and was elevated to third following the disqualification of Maximum Security. After working twice with the graded winner Multiplier, Mott changed workmates on Sunday in part to make it easier for Tacitus to go by and finish up the work.
“I’m just real pleased with the way he leveled off,” Mott said. “He seems more responsive. If you want him to pick it up a little bit, he’s maybe there for you a little more.”
Ortiz has ridden Tacitus in all five of his starts and has worked him the last two weekends. He has seen changes in the colt.
“I worked him the last two times, and he really surprised me,” Ortiz said. “I always thought that he’s been a little immature. When he passed horses, he’d stop running, stuff like that.
“He worked last week together [with Multiplier] to the wire, then he went on by himself and didn’t do anything like put the ears up or wait on horses. This morning, by the eighth pole, I left the other horse, he leveled off the same, so I’m optimistic that he’s getting over that [immaturity]. He’s a great horse, well bred, and he has a lot of ability.”
Tacitus is by Tapit – who has sired three of the last five Belmont Stakes winners – and is out of the mare Close Hatches, a two-time Grade 1 winner over Belmont’s main track.
Tacitus overcame trouble early in the Wood Memorial to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Tax. In the Kentucky Derby, Tacitus was 16th early after Ortiz got squeezed back after failing to clear a horse or two to his outside.
“On the backside, he picked it up really well; he was moving beautiful, and we got good position,” Ortiz said. “Going to the second turn, I didn’t have any excuse. I was three or four lengths off Country House and those horses. In the stretch, when he felt Game Winner coming to him on the outside, he really leveled off and gave me a great run to be fourth. I think it was a great race and hopefully will set him up for the Belmont and Travers.”
• Preakness winner War of Will was scheduled to leave Keeneland by van by 3 p.m. Sunday and arrive at Belmont Park early Monday morning, trainer Mark Casse said.
• Trainer Danny Gargan said Sunday no decision had been made regarding the status of Tax for the Belmont Stakes. Gargan, who was lukewarm about Tax’s workout Saturday, said the colt was doing well Sunday.
“I thought he would have backed out of his feed, but things couldn’t be better,” Gargan said. “Can’t make it up.”
Gargan said he wanted to see how Tax was doing Monday before deciding whether to run.
• Trainer Gregg Sacco, via text, said a decision on the Belmont status of Joevia would be made Monday.
• Master Fencer galloped a slow 1 1/8 miles on the main track Sunday after jogging once around the one-mile training track. Master Fencer is expected to have his final workout Wednesday with Julien Leparoux up.
– additional reporting by Mike Welsch
