Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: American Promise
?q=100)
American Promise
Colt by Justify – Tapella, by Tapit
Bred in Kentucky by Candy Meadows ($750,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by BC Stables)
Triple Crown winner Justify has had a phenomenal start to his stud career and is positioned to be represented in his third Kentucky Derby from as many crops to race. American Promise, who moves onto the Derby Watch Top 20 with his Virginia Derby win, will look to better the performances of Verifying, from Justify’s first crop, who finished 16th in the 2023 Derby, and Just a Touch, who finished 20th last year.
Justify has demonstrated the versatility of his own sire, Scat Daddy, with top-level runners on both dirt and turf and around one turn and two. His ability to impart stamina is shown in Cartier Award European Horse of the Year City of Troy, a classic winner and top-flight performer at up to 1 1/2 miles, and Eclipse Award champion Just F Y I, whose biggest win came in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at 1 1/16 miles.
Justify’s other Grade/Group 1 winners are Aspen Grove and Opera Singer, whose top-level wins came at 1 1/4 miles on turf; Hard to Justify, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at a mile; and Arabian Lion and Ramatuelle, winners at seven furlongs on dirt and turf, respectively.
Tapella scored both her wins at a mile. She is the dam of two winners from three starters, and both are now stakes winners at a route. Her daughter Hoosier Philly, winner of the Grade 2 Golden Rod and four other stakes, is approaching millionaire status.
Tapella is one of four winners from five starters out of Sunland Oaks winner Princess Arabella, who also is the dam of Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan runner-up Ulele and stakes-placed Mo Hawk. This is the family of Invisible Ink, runner-up in the 2001 Kentucky Derby.
Tapit has emerged as a prominent broodmare sire, with his daughters producing Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish, Belmont Stakes winner and champion Arcangelo, and Kentucky Oaks winner and champion Pretty Mischievous, among other Grade 1 winners.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.