Mott, Juddmonte seek to conquer new territory in a familiar realm

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There is a winner’s circle in the Churchill Downs infield that is used on one weekend a year. It is ringed by rose bushes in a horseshoe shape, calling to mind the garland of roses placed around the Kentucky Derby winner’s neck when he steps into that circle.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who saddled his first starter in 1973, knows almost every inch of Churchill Downs. After all, he was the all-time winningest trainer at the historic track for more than three decades, until Dale Romans dethroned him in November 2017. The principals of Juddmonte Farms, the global breeding and racing power founded by Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 1977, are also familiar with this oval. After all, they’ve seen several of their homebreds sweep by underneath the twin spires headed to stakes victories, most recently European travelers Enable and Expert Eye at last fall’s Breeders’ Cup.

But despite all that history, there’s one place at Churchill Downs neither Mott nor the Juddmonte connections have set foot – and that’s that Kentucky Derby winner’s circle, which has been a tantalizing, but not dogged, pursuit for both.

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Fortunately for them, Tacitus seems to enjoy visiting different winner’s circles. The late-blooming colt is the only horse to win Derby points races at different tracks this year. Tacitus, who has made all four of his starts at a mile or longer, won his maiden last November in his second outing. Mott then gave him additional time to develop over the winter, while the rose bushes at Churchill Downs lay dormant.

“He’s not a horse that ever wows in the mornings,” Juddmonte manager Garrett O’Rourke said. “He’s pretty relaxed, but he’s got this beautiful stride on him. Even though Hidden Scroll would outwork him over short distances, he’s a horse that just keeps this tremendous gallop going. Bill was always confident that once he got him at a distance of ground, we’d see the true Tacitus, and that’s why he threw him straight in the deep end.”

Tacitus bloomed with a stakes-record performance off the bench in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on March 9, and then overcame a troubled trip to win the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 6 at Aqueduct.

“Over the spring and summer, he was a bit of a backward horse,” Mott, who will also saddle multiple graded stakes-placed Country House in this Derby for Maury Shields, Guinness McFadden Jr., and LNJ Foxwoods. “He and Country House both. They were actually workmates over the summer, and they weren’t brilliant. In their workouts, they were very steady, solid horses. It wasn’t until probably September that we asked them to show us a little more, and they both responded. Both got to the races late in the fall, and now they’re here in the spring, and they look like they might be the right ones.”

Four Juddmonte homebreds have started in the Kentucky Derby, with Aptitude (2000) and Empire Maker (2003) both finishing second. Empire Maker, trained by the late Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, went on to win the Belmont Stakes for the outfit’s lone American classic win. Mott, who won the 2010 Belmont with Drosselmeyer, has saddled eight horses in the Derby, with his best finish being Juddmonte’s Hofburg, who was seventh last year.

Frankel died of leukemia in November 2009, and Juddmonte elected to send the majority of its U.S.-based horses to Mott, with success stories including champion Close Hatches and Grade 1 winners Emollient, Proviso, and Seek Again. Juddmonte eventually diversified, sending additional U.S. horses such as Eclipse champion Flintshire to former Frankel assistant Chad Brown, and purchasing horses to fit fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert’s program in California, resulting in champion and leading money winner Arrogate. But Mott was the obvious choice to train Tacitus, the first foal out of Close Hatches.

“Bill did such an admirable job with Close Hatches, achieving so many exceptional victories with her,” O’Rourke said. “Obviously, he was always going to be the favorite to get her first foal. But I think Bill does exceptionally well with horses that probably need a little bit of patience. He doesn’t push them for speed. Tacitus was never going to be a speed horse. I just think the stars were aligning. … It just seemed like it would be a perfect fit.”

Tacitus has his sire Tapit’s gray coloring, and is similar in scope and size to other progeny of the perennial leading sire. O’Rourke said he believes Tacitus has personality traits of his dam. He pointed to one of the mare’s five Grade 1 victories, the 2014 Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park, as a sign of her fortitude, as she held off Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar by a head, with fellow champion Beholder a close fourth.

“Close Hatches had a lovely temperament – still does,” O’Rourke said. “She could be a little bit strong in the mornings, and I’d definitely say strength of personality is something Tacitus has inherited from his dam. He’s in no way hot like some of the Tapits can be. He’s always in control. He seems to like to train, and he seems to be very competitive in a fight, as she was.”

Tacitus, showed his competitive nature in a rough-and-tumble renewal of the Wood Memorial, emerging with a 1 1/4-length victory over Tax. The experience should benefit him moving into the 20-horse ruckus of the Kentucky Derby. And if he can fight his way to the finish line first, have his connections allowed themselves to dream about what it might be like to join the exclusive club to walk into that winner’s circle?

“They say it’s right up there,” Mott said. “They say the feeling is pretty good to get up there and accept that Derby trophy. I’d like to find out for myself.”