Tacitus to stand at Taylor Made Farm in 2022; Juddmonte stays in new partnership

Regally bred multiple graded-stakes winner Tacitus will stand at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., in 2022, with partners including his breeder, Juddmonte Farms, the operations announced Monday.

Tacitus, by leading sire Tapit and out of Eclipse Award champion Close Hatches, was bred by Juddmonte in Kentucky. He has been campaigned by that international operation through a career in which he has earned $3,767,350 to date. His graded stakes victories came in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial and Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in early 2019, and the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes last year.

Tacitus has placed in seven other graded stakes, including being moved to third in the 2019 Kentucky Derby via Maximum Security's disqualification, and finishing second by a length to Sir Winston in the Belmont Stakes.

Tacitus, who most recently finished fourth in the Grade 3 Lukas Classic on Oct. 2, and returned to the worktab on Oct. 15, will stand for a partnership of Juddmonte, Taylor Made, and Don Alberto for an introductory fee of $10,000, with a breeding right program also to be offered.

Juddmonte, whose founder, Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, died in January, has a prominent stallion roster at its Banstead Manor Stud in England, but has stood its own stallions sparingly in Kentucky in recent years. After the operation sold First Defence, the sire of Close Hatches, in 2016, the stalwart Mizzen Mast was alone in the stallion wing until Arrogate retired for the 2018 season. Champion Arrogate died last year, after three seasons at stud. Mizzen Mast, now age 23, covered just 10 mares this year, according to The Jockey Club's Report of Mares Bred.

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Instead of standing stallions at its own operation, Juddmonte, which has retired several accomplished runners to stud in Kentucky in recent years, has forged partnerships with other operations and has placed young stallions at other farms in order to get other domestic breeders involved. Noble Mission, a champion full brother to unbeaten Frankel, retired to Lane's End Farm, with Juddmonte retaining an interest. He later moved to Japan.

Eclipse Award champion Flintshire stands at Hill 'n' Dale Farm for the partnership of that operation, Juddmonte, China Horse Club, and SF Bloodstock.

Performer dies of colic complications

The new stallion ranks for 2022 lost a member when multiple graded stakes winner Performer, who was scheduled to stand at Claiborne Farm, died over the weekend. Claiborne said Monday that the 5-year-old Speightstown horse had been sent to a clinic Friday evening suffering from colic, and died early Saturday from a ruptured stomach.

Phipps Stable homebred Performer, from the family of unbeaten champion and blue hen Personal Ensign, won the Grade 3 Discovery Stakes in 2019 and the Grade 3 Fred W Hooper Stakes earlier this year. His retirement was announced in March, too late for the 2021 breeding season.