Steadfast sire Tapit can add to Belmont Stakes legacy

The bloodstock industry has seen change, but as the ground has shifted under his feet, Tapit has remained strong and steady. The perennial leading sire seeks to lift the bar even higher for himself in Saturday’s renewal of the Belmont Stakes.

Tapit, who stands at Gainesway Farm, is the only sire in the modern era to be represented by three Belmont Stakes winners – and one of just five stallions to sire three or more winners of the oldest American classic. Chasing a record-tying fourth victory, he could be represented by as many as three starters in Saturday’s Belmont, led by Tacitus, third in the Kentucky Derby. Tapit’s other candidates are Bourbon War and Intrepid Heart.

Tapit is the sire of Belmont winners Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), and Tapwrit (2017). He also finished second with Frosted (2015), who chased home Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, and Tapit’s son Lani was third behind Creator.

"What really stands out is their competitive nature and will to win," Gainesway director of sales Michael Hernon said this week. "Some of them were won by short margins but that's part of their DNA and their will to win. I've watched them race over the years and if a race comes down to a photo finish and there's a Tapit in it, you want to be holding a ticket for the Tapit because they really seem to come out on top. They have that ability combined with soundness and ability to carry at a distance."

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The great Lexington, America’s leading sire 16 times despite his stud career at Woodburn Farm being interrupted by the Civil War, holds the all-time record among sires in the Belmont Stakes with four winners: General Duke (1868), Kingfisher (1870), Harry Bassett (1871), and Duke of Magenta (1878). Besides Tapit he’s the only other sire to win three editions of the race in four years.

Three other stallions have sired three Belmont winners. Lexington’s contemporary Australian, shipped to safe harbor in Illinois during the Civil War, won with Joe Daniels (1872), Springbok (1873), and Spendthrift (1879). Fair Play sired the great Man o’ War, who won the 1920 Belmont, along with Mad Play (1924) and Chance Shot (1927). Man o’ War himself sired three Belmont winners, with 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral, along with American Flag (1925) and Crusader (1926).

The feats of those four came when the Thoroughbred breeding industry in America was much smaller. Tapit’s runners compete against exponentially larger foal crops sired by a larger number of stallions, due partially to an enhanced emphasis on commercial breeding, as well as the relative ease of shipping horses in modern times. To illustrate, Man o’ War sired 381 foals throughout his entire stud career. The busiest stallion in North America last year, Into Mischief, covered 245 mares in 2018 alone as one of 1,214 active stallions on the continent, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred.

Grade 1 winner Tapit was the leading freshman sire of 2008, led by Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse Award champion Stardom Bound. His bankroll of $2,811,337 was then a record in the category. Tapit climbed his way into the top 10 general sires for the first time in 2011, finishing third as his Hansen won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to lock up an Eclipse. He finished fourth on the list in 2012 and seventh in 2013, then took off on a three-year run of dominance.

In 2014, Tapit broke through with Tonalist and with Eclipse Award winner Untapable, who scored signature wins in the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Tapit’s bankroll of $16,813,536 not only gave him his first general sire title, it broke Smart Strike’s single-season earnings record for a North American stallion of $14,358,570, established in 2007. Tapit’s second act came in 2015, when he broke his own record with earnings of $18,397,691.

Tapit raised the bar again in 2016 with earnings of $19,245,198, which still stands as the record despite the changes that were on the horizon. Midway through that season, he reached the $100-million milestone in career progeny earnings, doing so in a swift timeframe compared with his contemporaries. Three-time leading sire Giant’s Causeway reached the mark, like Tapit, with nine crops of racing age; Smart Strike passed the mark with his 14th crop. Tapit reached the milestone before perennial leading sires Malibu Moon (2000), Medaglia d’Oro (2005), and Speightstown (2005), all of whom entered stud before or the same year as him.

But then, change came again to the industry with the advent of the Pegasus World Cup in 2017 – which, along with rich races such as the Dubai World Cup and the Breeders’ Cup events, has helped skew earnings lists. For example, Unbridled’s Song was unable to be caught atop that traditional sire list in 2017 after his Arrogate won the $12 million Pegasus and $10 million Dubai World Cup. The 2018 list was led by Kitten’s Joy and Candy Ride, who had wins in the $16 million Pegasus, as well as the Dubai and Breeders’ Cup programs.

Other stallions are fighting an uphill battle against those numbers – including Tapit, fifth on the earnings list in both 2017 and 2018. However, other metrics show that Tapit’s dominance has not diminished in terms of quality – including Daily Racing Form’s exclusive stallion metrics, the Beyer Sire Performance Standings. Tapit was represented by 43 individual runners to earn benchmark Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or higher in 2018 – easily outpacing Candy Ride, with 32. Raising the bar even higher, Tapit tied for the lead with six individuals to earn triple-digit Beyers. Unique Bella posted her sire’s highest Beyer when she earned a 109 winning the Santa Maria by nine lengths to start her season. The multiple Grade 1 winner was the Eclipse champion female sprinter of 2017 and champion older female of 2018.

Quality Road, sire of $9 million Pegasus World Cup winner City of Light, currently leads the 2019 earnings list, at $8,277,305. Into Mischief, whose Audible was fifth in the Pegasus and third in the Dubai World Cup, sits second at $6,821,084.

But breathing down their necks is Tapit, whose eight graded stakes winners already this season – trailing only Curlin with nine – have him at $6,743,893. He already leads the Beyer Sire Performance Standings with 41 Beyers of 90 or higher, and is tied for the lead with five triple-digit figures.

"He put himself in this spot," Hernon said. "He's having a tremendous year so far and we're only at the beginning."